Joan Miró

Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York
Mr & Mrs Edwin A. Bergman, Chicago (acquired from the above in 1957)
Thence by descent to the present owner

Executed on a strong sheet of white wove paper, not laid down, taped to the mount at intervals along the reverse of the edges, floating in the mount. There are artist's pinholes in all four corners. The medium is very fresh and this work is in very good original condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration, although the green tones are much more pronounced in the original.
"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."

Femmes, oiseau, étoiles was executed in 1943, at the time when Miró was rapidly gaining widespread international acclaim. Populated with highly stylised and abstracted figures, it uses the vocabulary of signs developed a few years earlier in his celebrated Constellations series. Three whimsical, Surrealist characters, accompanied by a highly stylised bird, are depicted against the rich blue-green background. Writing about Miró's production of 1942 and 1943, which consisted almost entirely of works on paper, Jacques Dupin commented: 'They are explorations undertaken with no preconceived idea – effervescent creations in which the artist perfected a vast repertory of forms, signs, and formulas, bringing into play all the materials and instruments compatible with paper. These works permit us to follow the alchemist at work, for errors and oversights are found side by side with the most unexpected triumphs and happy spontaneous discoveries. The object of all these explorations is to determine the relationship between drawing and the materials, the relationship between line and space. The artist is not so much interested in expressing something with appropriate technique, as in making the material express itself in its own way. Successively, on the same sheet, black pencil and India ink, watercolor and pastel, gouache and thinned oil paint, colored crayons [...] are employed, and their contrasts and similarities exploited to the full, and not infrequently exploited beyond their capacities' (J. Dupin, Joan Miró, Life and Work, London, 1962, p. 372).

 

In 1957, Miró's New York dealer Pierre Matisse sold Femmes, oiseau, étoiles to the celebrated Chicago philanthropists and art collectors Lindy & Edwin A. Bergman. Edwin A. Bergman (1917-1986) was a successful businessman with a passion for art, and was a trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago as well as of the Whitney Museum in New York. The couple's impressive collection, particularly focused on Surrealism, encompassed a number of notable paintings, drawings and sculptures by artists including Dalí, Ernst, Magritte, Tanguy, Cornell, Arp, Picasso, Picabia and many others. The majority of this distinguished collection, including the world's largest assembly of Joseph Cornell's boxes and collages, is now housed at the Art Institute of Chicago.