- 99
Theodoros Stamos
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Theodoros Stamos
- Infinity Field, Lefkada Series, for Caspar David Friedrich
- signed in Greek, titled and dated 1980-1 on the turnover edge
- acrylic on canvas
- 132 by 127cm., 52 by 50in.
Provenance
Galerie Knoedler, Zurich
Purchased from the above by the present owner circa 1985-90
Purchased from the above by the present owner circa 1985-90
Exhibited
Zurich, Turske & Turske, Theodoros Stamos: 'The dark paintings', 1985
Condition
The canvas has not been lined. The work is in very good original condition and ultra-violet light reveals no sign of restoration. There are some very small spots of fluorescence which are most probably due to the artist's pigments. The work is ready to hang.
Presented in a narrow black frame with gilt border.
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
Theodoros Stamos was one of the original Abstract Expressionists working in New York City in the 1940s and 50s. His interest in nature, Surrealism, primitive arts and Asian Mysticism helped him to synthesize a non-representational language, which he emphasized with subtle gradations of colour and form on which he imposed calligraphic configurations.
Born to Greek immigrants in New York City as the fourth of six children, Stamos was awarded a scholarship to the American Artists' School aged fourteen, where he studied sculpture. This was his only formal art education and when he turned to painting in 1939 he was considered by his peers to be a self-taught painter, an artist who relied on the tools and models available to and observable by him. By the late 1940s Stamos was an established member of the Abstract Expressionists. His interests were closely related to this circle of painters, who during the 1940s and 1950s searched for profound truth and universally significant content through myth and biomorphic abstraction, which Stamos, similarly to Rothko, conveyed through expressive colour fields. His aim was to create imagery that was drawn from nature and would be universal in spirit. Typically his canvases consist of large, flat areas of few colours applied in close, expressive brushstrokes.
Born to Greek immigrants in New York City as the fourth of six children, Stamos was awarded a scholarship to the American Artists' School aged fourteen, where he studied sculpture. This was his only formal art education and when he turned to painting in 1939 he was considered by his peers to be a self-taught painter, an artist who relied on the tools and models available to and observable by him. By the late 1940s Stamos was an established member of the Abstract Expressionists. His interests were closely related to this circle of painters, who during the 1940s and 1950s searched for profound truth and universally significant content through myth and biomorphic abstraction, which Stamos, similarly to Rothko, conveyed through expressive colour fields. His aim was to create imagery that was drawn from nature and would be universal in spirit. Typically his canvases consist of large, flat areas of few colours applied in close, expressive brushstrokes.