Joan Miró

Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York
Richard Feigen Gallery, Chicago (acquired from the above)
Dr. & Mrs. Richard W. Levy, New Orleans (acquired from the above in 1964)
Richard Feigen & Co., New York (acquired by 1967)
Perls Galleries, New York (acquired in 1968)
Private Collection, New York (acquired from the above in 1968)
Private Collection, New York (thence by descent and sold: Christie's, New York, November 7, 2001, lot 208)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

New York, Pierre Matisse Gallery, Miró, 1942
London, The Tate Gallery & Zurich, Kunsthaus, Joan Miró, 1964, no. 165, illustrated in the catalogue
New York, Perls Galleries, 24 Major Acquisitions, 1968, no. 14, illustrated in the catalogue
Bogota, Museo d'Arte Moderno & traveling, El Arte del Surrealismo, 1971-72, n.n., illustrated in the catalogue

Jacques Dupin, Joan Miró, Life and Work, New York, 1962, no. 532, illustrated p. 541
Jacques Dupin & Arianne Lelong-Mainaud, Joan Miró, Catalogue raisonné, vol. II, Paris, 2000, no. 622, illustrated p. 226

The work is in very good condition. Canvas is not lined. There are a few naturally occurring irregularities in the surface, due to the thick weave. Under UV light, there is one small dot of retouch in the thick white pigment in the center of the left edge.
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.

Between August and December of 1939, Miró painted two series of canvases which Jacques Dupin has identified as Varengeville  I and II, named for Varengeville-sur-Mer, a small town on the Normandy coast where the artist stayed from 1939-40. The latter group, Varengeville II, to which the present example belongs, were all executed on burlap and marked by a fantastic invention of form, a rapid and incisive line and more sparing use of color, all of which enabled him to incorporate both the texture and color of the burlap into the composition.

As Dupin writes, “The impression of night is striking, particularly in the painting on burlap; it is due to the intensity of line and figures in dark spaces, to the flashes of color, and perhaps also to the fact that the entire surface has been mobilized so the figures are bathed in nocturnal light” (Jacques Dupin, op. cit., p. 354).

Tête de femme and the related works of that series mark a departure from the more heavily painted and ominous works of the mid-1930s and provide the vocabulary and style for his famed “Constellations” series of the 1940-41. In describing this highly important period Clement Greenberg has noted that, “Among the few perfect things artists have done anywhere and at any time, I would include one or two paintings in black, red and yellow on burlap Miró did in 1939” (Clement Greenberg, Joan Miro, New York, 1948, p. 36).