- 139
Harry Clarke
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 GBP
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Description
- Harry Clarke
- How heavenly Fair
- signed u.r.: Harry Clarke; also signed on the reverse and inscribed on a label attached to the backboard: Faust: "How heavenly Fair the Form that shines/ in this enchanted glass
- pencil, pen and ink and wash on artist's card
- 28 by 18.5cm., 11 by 7¼in.
- Executed in 1924-5.
Provenance
Miss Rosy Black;
The Dawson Gallery, Dublin
The Dawson Gallery, Dublin
Exhibited
Dublin, Mills' Hall Exhibition, 1929, no.36;
Dublin, Trinity College, The Douglas Hyde Gallery, Harry Clarke, 1979, no.96
Dublin, Trinity College, The Douglas Hyde Gallery, Harry Clarke, 1979, no.96
Literature
Faust by Goethe, translated from the German by John Anster, illustrated by Harry Clarke, George G Harrap & Co. Ltd., 1925, limited edition of 2000, illustrated p.130;
Condition
STRUCTURE
The card is sound and not laid down but adhered to the backboard along each edge. There is a small area of very fine surface abrasions in the dark space between the raised arms of the central figure. Two further very fine scratches near the upper right edge. All only visible upon close inspection; otherwise the work appears in very good overall condition.
FRAME
Held in a simple wood frame under glass with a grey mount.
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
Lots 139 and 140 are exceptionally rare works created by Clarke for John Anster's limited edition translation of Goethe's Faust (1925), for which there were only 8 wash drawings and 8 colour plates. Both are to be illustrated in the new edition of The Life and Work of Harry Clarke, pp.255-6, by Nicola Gordon Bowe, for whose assistance with the cataloguing of the present works we are grateful.
'How heavenly Fair depicts Faust looking into a magic glass in the sordid squalor of the Witch's Kitchen, hung with hellish and amorphous specimens, and beholds, in contrast, the transcendent beauty of 'that reclining form' sent by Mephistopheles to tempt him.'
'How heavenly Fair depicts Faust looking into a magic glass in the sordid squalor of the Witch's Kitchen, hung with hellish and amorphous specimens, and beholds, in contrast, the transcendent beauty of 'that reclining form' sent by Mephistopheles to tempt him.'