Christopher Wood

Redfern Gallery, London, where acquired by the present owners in 1949
Sold by the above
Sale, Christie's London, 13th June 1980, lot 132
Sale, Sotheby's 13^th November 1985, lot 134, where acquired by the present owners

London, Redfern Gallery, Christopher Wood, Willy Mucha & Graham Sutherland, 1949, cat. no.4;
London, Redfern Gallery, Christopher Wood, 1965, cat. no.93.

Eric Newton, Christopher Wood 1901-1930, Redfern Gallery, London 1938, cat. no.12, p.65;
Richard Ingleby, Christopher Wood: An English Painter, Allison & Busby, London 1995, illustrated pl.1.

The board is sound. There are some fine lines of surface craquelure along the bottom edge and by the left edge and some minor lines to the beret of the card player in the centre, otherwise in good overall condition with strong passages of impasto throughout. Under ultraviolet light, there are some fine flecks of retouching in and around the heads of the two central card players, an area to the centre of the upper edge, by the left edge and a few further specks by the card player, fourth from the left. Held in a painted plaster frame with canvas inset. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 5381 if you have any queries regarding this work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

One of Wood's earliest pictures, The Card Players was painted around Christmas of 1922, almost certainly in Paris, to which he and Tony Gandarillas had returned after extensive travels in the summer and autumn. Directly influenced by Cezanne, Wood mentions the painting in a letter to his mother, 'I am painting a picture of some men playing cards, the drawing and the expression of the faces is good'. Indeed Wood does capture the very distinct characteristics of each of the figures, and also manages to create a convincing space within which the group sit. The subject was one to which Wood was to return a number of times over the years, although in the later paintings the theme is often developed to incorporate the heightened sense of drama and narrative that became such a feature of Wood's later work.