Salvador Dalí

Mollie Parnis Livingston, New York (acquired in December 1951 and sold by the estate: Sotheby's, New York, November 11, 1992, lot 280)
Private Collection, Florida (acquired at the above sale and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 6, 2004, lot 376)
Franklin Bowles Galleries, San Francisco (acquired at the above sale)
Private Collection (acquired from the above and sold: Christie's, New York, May 5, 2011, lot 197)
Acquired at the above sale

Executed on cream colored wove paper affixed to mount at several places along top edge on verso. Medium is fresh. There are two repaired tears extending vertically up from the bottom edge, one about two inches long and the other about an inch long. One 3 1/2 inch tear extending vertically down from the top edge and another 1 1/2 inch tear extending from right edge towards bottom. These are both well outside of the image area. In addition there is a 1 1/2 in tear extending down from the horses's belly below the figure's knee. There two repaired Y-shaped tears at lower right, outside of the image area. The line is strong and clear. This work is in generally 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.

Executed in 1935, Horse and Rider is a prime example of Dalí's Le Chevalier de la mort, a figure of death and decay that dominated the artist’s consciousness. Works of this period reflect not only a personal concern with death, but also the political atmosphere at the time, as the threat of the oncoming Spanish Civil War loomed larger. Created during this period of uncertainty, the figures charge forward heroically, perhaps to deliver a message to the faraway city seen in the background. Rendered in many of Dalí's works during this period, this distant landscape is reminiscent of the artist’s home in Port Lligat in northern Spain.

In a lecture given at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1934, Dalí discussed his primary themes and preoccupations of this time: "To understand an aesthetic picture, training in appreciation is necessary, cultural and intellectual preparation. For Surrealism the only requisite is a receptive and intuitive human being... The subconscious has a symbolic language that is truly a universal language for it does not depend on education or culture or intelligence but speaks with the vocabulary of the great vital constants, sexual instinct, sense of death, physical notion of the enigma of space—these vital constants are universally echoed in every human being" (quoted in Salvador Dalí (exhibition catalogue), The Tate Gallery, London, 1980, pp. 15-16).