David Bomberg

Acquired from Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, New York in 1968 by the family of the present owner

New York, The Museum of Modern Art, A Treasury of Modern Drawing: The Joan and Lester Avnet Collection, 28th April - 4th July 1978, cat. no.4, illustrated in the exhibition catalogue p.53.

Richard Cork, David Bomberg, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1987, illustrated pl.38, p.37.

The following condition report has been prepared by Jane McAusland, Conservator and Restorer of Art on Paper: Support Bomberg has used a sheet of wove machine made paper to support this drawing. At present it is hinged into an overlay mount. There are some handling creases, artist pinholes and two related losses at the top edge. The condition is good. Medium The medium is good except for some surface losses relating to the handling creases. The verso shows an outline of the drawing in red chalk. Note: This work was viewed outside studio conditions. Held under glass in a metallic frame with a cream mount. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present 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."

Family Bereavement comes from a small group of works on the subject of mourning and personal loss which Bomberg produced the year after his mother's death in October 1912 at the young age of 48. Rebecca Bomberg had been the great support to his art-making in the family, buying canvases, materials and even helping him to start his studio in St Mark's Street, Whitechapel, next door to the family home.

The loss hit Bomberg incredibly hard. A second drawing also entitled Family Bereavement, 1913 (Fig.1, Tate Collection) presents a cramped space in quite intricate detail where five desperate family members comfort one another and pray. It is a scene which emphasises Bomberg's Jewish heritage. The light on the side-table relates to the 'yahrzeit' (memorial candle) which symbolises the soul of the dead. The characters' stage-like presentation appears to relate to the Yiddish dramas performed at the Pavilion Theatre in the East End. Interestingly, Bomberg allegedly kept a version of this work on his easel and identified himself as the figure on the far right. The intricate detail locates this work firmly in the style of the Slade School where Bomberg won the Henry Tonks prize in 1913.    

In stark contrast, the present work shows off the highly distinctive style developed by Bomberg between 1912 and 1914 which ranks him as one of the most avant-garde British artists of the 20^th Century. The composition is identical, but the scene has been pared down and  abstracted; the figures, gestures and details communicated in a vocabulary of tubular forms. By removing the literal representation, Bomberg seemingly rids the work of a specific event to make the drawing an agent of experimentation in form and composition. And yet the paring down, the austerity and strength of form place a great emphasis on the emotional power of the subject. Richard Cork has described the present work thus, 'The sparest of the drawings is, paradoxically, the most eloquent expression of Bomberg's emotion. It is a distillation of the event, and his refusal to elaborate on the taut framework of charcoal lines gives the image a fierce conviction... They are overwhelmed by the melancholy of an occasion which seems to have frozen them into helpless immobility.' (Richard Cork, David Bomberg, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1987, p.38).    

It is not known which work was executed first, but in some senses it is immaterial. No one work is a study for the next. Rather we see Bomberg investigating every avenue of a theme rich in possibility.