Peter Doig

Private Collection, London (acquired from the artist)

Colours: The colours are fairly accurate in the catalogue illustration, although the overall tonality is deeper and richer in the original with more saturation to the pink, orange and pale yellow colours. Condition: This work is in very good condition and is securely laid down to the backing board. All four edges are uneven, as is original to the work's execution. There is light undulation to the paper throughout. There are two tiny matrices of extremely fine and stable craquelure to the areas of varnish covering the green areas. There is a light vertical crease along the left hand edge which appears to be original to the work's execution. There is a tiny handling crease to the tip of the bottom right hand corner.
"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."

Depicting a distant boat bound for Carrera, a tiny prison island lying just off the coast near Doig's home in Trinidad's Port of Spain, the present work embodies his ability to challenge and question the viewer's role and their expectations when interpreting his art. With a seemingly effortless ability, he manifests the atmosphere of a hazy Caribbean evening through humid horizontal bands of pink, yellow and orange that float and meld into one another like slowly drifting clouds under a setting sun.

Painted two years before Doig moved to live and work in Trinidad full time, Boat to Carrera reflects the silent and eerie transition within his paintings between memory and image, and experience and imagination. Although rendered with the tropical vocabulary and vivid tones of a Caribbean postcard, the boat, upon closer inspection, appears to have run aground and its condemned cargo spilled out through a gaping hole in its bow. With both subject and image teetering on the brink of collapse, Doig nurtures a beautiful tension that bridges the gap between observation and interpretation.