Marc Foucault

a unique object, photomontage, signed in pencil on the reverse, framed, Buhl Collection and Guggenheim Museum exhibition labels on the reverse, 1946

The photographer, by descent to his widow

Christian Bouqueret, Paris, 2002

New York, Guggenheim Museum, Speaking with Hands: Photographs from The Buhl Collection, June - September 2004, and 4 other international venues through 2007 (see Appendix 1)

Jennifer Blessing, Speaking with Hands: Photographs from The Buhl Collection (Guggenheim Foundation, 2004), pp. 55 and 216 (this unique object)

This photomontage has been assembled with meticulous and ingenious skill. The grafting of animal shapes – a duck's webbed foot, a slug, a human hand and lips, an eye – onto the stalks of plants is done almost seamlessly. The hands in the lower portion of the image, presumably actually doing the grafting, hold an artist's knife and a pair of tweezers, and present an inherent comment on the act of photomontage. Foucault cut several slits in photograph, so that some of the photographic components emerge from the image (as in the case of the stalk/hand), or appear from behind elements in the photograph, such as the eye/leaf. The base photograph, of plants, is on a heavy double-weight paper with a glossy surface. The collaged photographs appear to be on lighter-weight paper, also with a glossy surface. The work is essentially in excellent condition. There is some very minor incidental wear on the edges, and some faint creasing in the lower left corner. When the print is examined in raking light, some evidence of colorless adhesive is faintly visible. Several of the collaged-on elements are lifting slightly: the slug's antennae, one claw on the duck's foot. The hand that emerges out of the stem is creased near the wrist – this was presumably in the print before it was mounted, or occurred during mounting. None of these condition issues is immediately apparent, nor do they prevent all of the elements from coalescing into a unified single image.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.