- 155
Paul Klee
Estimate
250,000 - 350,000 USD
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Description
- Paul Klee
- Paläste (Palaces)
- Signed Klee (lower right); titled, dated 1940 and numbered K 16 (on the artist's mount)
- Gouache and watercolor on paper mounted on card
- Sheet: 12 3/8 by 18 7/8 in.; 31.5 by 42.8 cm
- Mount: 14 by 20 in.; 35.5 by 50.8 cm
Provenance
Lily Klee, Bern (acquired in 1940)
Klee-Gesellschaft, Bern (acquired from the above in 1946)
Buchholz Gallery, New York (acquired from the above in 1948)
Kleemann Galleries, New York (acquired from the above in 1954)
Roman Norbert Ketterer, Stuttgart (acquired from the above in 1955 and sold: Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett, Stuttgart, May 25, 1955, lot 410)
Saidenberg Gallery, New York (acquired at the above sale)
William Rand, New York (acquired from the above in 1958 and sold: Christie's, New York, February 16, 1998, lot 40)
Private Collection (and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 11, 2000, lot 243)
Lavis Fine Art, Toronto
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, May 4, 2006, lot 370
Acquired at the above sale
Klee-Gesellschaft, Bern (acquired from the above in 1946)
Buchholz Gallery, New York (acquired from the above in 1948)
Kleemann Galleries, New York (acquired from the above in 1954)
Roman Norbert Ketterer, Stuttgart (acquired from the above in 1955 and sold: Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett, Stuttgart, May 25, 1955, lot 410)
Saidenberg Gallery, New York (acquired at the above sale)
William Rand, New York (acquired from the above in 1958 and sold: Christie's, New York, February 16, 1998, lot 40)
Private Collection (and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 11, 2000, lot 243)
Lavis Fine Art, Toronto
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, May 4, 2006, lot 370
Acquired at the above sale
Exhibited
New York, Buchholz Gallery, Paul Klee, 1948, no. 35, illustrated in the catalogue
New York, Saidenberg Gallery, Paul Klee, 1955, no. 48
New York, Saidenberg Gallery, Paul Klee Third Bi-Annual Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings, 1957, no. 47
Bern, Kunstmuseum, Paul Klee: Das Schaffen im Todesjahr, 1990, no. 277, illustrated in color in the catalogue
New York, Saidenberg Gallery, Paul Klee, 1955, no. 48
New York, Saidenberg Gallery, Paul Klee Third Bi-Annual Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings, 1957, no. 47
Bern, Kunstmuseum, Paul Klee: Das Schaffen im Todesjahr, 1990, no. 277, illustrated in color in the catalogue
Literature
Oeuvre-Katalogue Klee, 1940, no. 296
Jürg Spiller, Paul Klee. Das bildernisches Denken. Form - und Gestaltungslehre, 1956, Basel & Stuttgart, no. S. 457, illustrated
Stefan Frey & Josef Helfenstein, Paul Klee, Verzeichnis der Werke des Jahres 1940, Stuttgart, 1991, no. 296, illustrated p. 249
Paul Klee Foundation & Museum of Fine Arts, Bern, eds., Paul Klee Catalogue Raisonné 1940, vol. IX, Bern, 2004, no. 9315, illustrated p. 209
Jürg Spiller, Paul Klee. Das bildernisches Denken. Form - und Gestaltungslehre, 1956, Basel & Stuttgart, no. S. 457, illustrated
Stefan Frey & Josef Helfenstein, Paul Klee, Verzeichnis der Werke des Jahres 1940, Stuttgart, 1991, no. 296, illustrated p. 249
Paul Klee Foundation & Museum of Fine Arts, Bern, eds., Paul Klee Catalogue Raisonné 1940, vol. IX, Bern, 2004, no. 9315, illustrated p. 209
Condition
Executed on cream wove paper mounted on the artist;s card. Edges are deckled. A couple of tiny nicks to the extreme edges of the sheet and the card. One 1/2-inch horizontal line of pigment loss in the black and white pigment towards upper right corner. Colors are bright and fresh and and the impasto is well preserved. This work is in very 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.
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.
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.
Catalogue Note
Paläste was executed in 1940, the final year of Paul Klee's life and at a time when war was rampant in Europe. As is typical of Klee's later works the sheet is divided into planes of color separated by thick black lines. In the present work the "palace" fills almost the entire paper, seemingly pushing the other buildings out of the composition. Bright red in color, the image radiates from the sheet.