Joan Miró

Tériade, Paris
Perls Galleries, New York
Brett Mitchell Collection, Inc., New York
Acquired from the above in 1982

Fernand Mourlot, Joan Miró Lithographs, 1964-1969, vol. III, Paris, 1977, no. 48, illustration of the lithograph p. 96

This work is in excellent condition. The sheet has not been laid down. The sheet is hinged with two pieces of tape on the top left and top right corners. The colors are bright and fresh. There is minor matte staining to the right and left margins of the sheet, which is not visible when the work is in its matte.
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.
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This unique work, a gouache over printed lithograph, was one of a series of paintings made by Miró around 1954 in anticipation of a new edition of the celebrated Alfred Jarry play "Ubu Roi" to be published by Tériade, the noted editor of Verve magazine. Tériade aptly chose Miró to illustrate the text as Miró, one of the original Surrealists, was familiar with the text and its profound influence on his circle.

Jarry's character of Ubu Roi (Père Ubu) was the modernist anti-hero and identifiable by Miró as a critique of the Franco regime in his native Spain. Cruel and coarse, acting always outside the rules of polite society, Ubu ingratiates himself into the court of the King of Poland. Eventually killing his host, la Mère Ubu attempts to steal her husband’s cached booty, ending up in the arms of his foe. Returning to her husband for forgiveness, she takes the form of the angel Gabriel, and is saved by the entrance of her former lover mid-conflict, with the Macbethian plot ending with Ubu and his wife fleeing to France. These absurdist pathways and characters fascinated the Surrealists who saw a prescient reflection of their current society and its political players.

Although these works were made in the early 1950s, they were not publicly shown until the early 1980s. An exhibition of the entire series took place at Perls Gallery in New York in 1982. John Russell, writing in the New York Times, effused: "The radiance of the color, the energy of the drawing and the freedom of the invention make these paintings a joy to look at if we have never heard of Alfred Jarry and regard General Franco as a fabulous monster, long forgotten" (John Russell, "Critics' Choices" in The New York Times, April 11, 1982, p. 3).