Blanche Lazzell

Private Collection (acquired in France in the 1950s)
Thence by descent

Executed on white wove paper, not laid down, fixed to the backing board in the corners. The lower edge is uneven. Apart from some handling smudges and possible traces of glue, this work is in excellent original 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."

After graduating from West Virginia University, Blanche Lazzell spent a year studying at the Art Students League with professors William Merritt Chase and Kenyon Cox, before moving to Paris in 1912. In the French capital she was then able to attend conferences at various universities, and took courses from prestigious professors, including Charles Guérin at the Académie Moderne. A few years later, back in her country of origin, Lazzell joined Provincetown’s artist community. During the First World War, Provincetown became an important artistic centre, harbouring many European artists during their exile from the Nazi threat. In 1923, attracted by the Cubist revolution, Blanche Lazzell returned to Paris where she learned the codes and basics of Cubism from its greatest exponents such as Fernand Léger, André Lhote and Albert Gleizes. The experiments that she conducted with Gleizes led to a series of abstract compositions, to which she gave numbers instead of titles when she returned to Provincetown in the mid 1920s. The artist’s abstract compositions and wooden sculptures may be considered to be among the first American abstract works of art. Lazzell said of these compositions: “A piece of music is an assembly of sounds. Our paintings are an assembly of colours”. During the 1930s, Lazzell returned to New York, working at the Works Progress Administration, where she studied with her friend Hans Hofmann. She regularly exhibited her prints and paintings from the 1940s until her death in 1955.