Tamara de Lempicka

Kizette de Lempicka Foxhall (the artist's daughter)
Sale: Sotheby's New York, 14 June 1985, lot 105
Jack Nicholson, Los Angeles (purchased at the above sale)
Anjelica Huston, Los Angeles (a gift from the above)

Tokyo, Bunkamura Museum of Art & Hyogo, Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Tamara de Lempicka et son époque, 2010, no. 51, illustrated in the catalogue
Rome, Complesso del Vittoriano, Tamara de Lempicka, La regina del moderno, 2011, no. 65, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Alain Blondel, Lempicka, Catalogue raisonné 1921-1979, Lausanne 1999, no. B.251, illustrated p. 331

The canvas is not lined. There are some small scattered spots of retouching to the edges and two further specks of retouching to the vase and to the left of the photo frame. There is an area of intermittent retouching along the upper left edge. All retouchings are visible under UV light. There is a speck of paint loss towards the centre of the upper edge, to the upper left corner and below the centre of the right edge. There are a few areas of fine craquelure, the most prominent of which is a line above the photo frame between the vase and some further fine lines concentrated in the upper left quadrant. Otherwise, this work is in overall good condition.
"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."

The present work is the last in Lempicka's series of still life compositions to incorporate the depiction of a photograph. This unique amalgamation of still life and portrait offered an ideal opportunity for Lempicka to showcase her distinctive and assured technique across multiple genres in a single image.

With the arrival of the war in the early 1940s came a decline in exhibitions, and Lempicka eventually retreated to her country home in Connecticut, seeking refuge from wartime turmoil. It was then that the artist began a series of domestic still life compositions, typically featuring vegetables and flowers as their primary subjects, which are now counted among the most successful paintings of her mature career. Upon returning to the city soon thereafter, Lempicka continued this series but began to elaborate on her compositions, 'adorning them with drapes in the most classical spirit' (Alain Blondel, Tamara de Lempicka catalogue raisonné 1921-1979, Lausanne, 1999, p. 488), as demonstrated by the elegant curtains that frame the present work

Lempicka was particularly drawn to lilies, perhaps for their seductive sculptural quality, and erotic connotations, and as a result they feature in many of her most alluring works. Together with the photograph of the woman, they take centre stage in this most dramatic of compositions. As Alain Blondel has remarked, talking of the artist's relationship with lily flowers, 'if Lempicka ever swore her loyalty to anything in life, it would be to these flowers' (ibid., p. 300).