André Kertész

on the original full vellum mount, signed and dated '1928' in pencil on the mount, framed, 1927

The photographer to Florent Fels, Paris

By descent to Mathias Fels, Paris

Agathe Gaillard, Paris

Mark Kelman, New York, acquired from the above by Vivian Kauffman, Paris, as agent

Private Collection, 1976

Acquired from the above, 1980s

Pierre Apraxine and Lee Marks, Photographs from the Collection of the Gilman Paper Company (White Oak Press, 1985), pl. 161

This impressive early print, pleasingly warm-toned and on matte-surface paper, is in generally excellent condition. This photograph - on its original vellum mount with the photographer's robust signature in pencil - represents the ideal presentation for Kertész's best prints from this era. The print is trimmed to the image, and there is a minuscule chip to the emulsion along the upper edge. Faint silvering is barely discernible along the left edge. Upon very close examination, the following are visible: a 1/2-inch thin linear deposit, probably crayon, in the area of the bowl; a few tiny foxmarks on the upper half of the mirror; and a very tiny scratch on the lower half of the mirror. The above do not detract in any way from the overall fine appearance of this print. The large vellum mount is faintly soiled. The corners are bumped, and the lower right corner is creased.
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.

Nature Morte (II) belongs to a small group of domestic still lifes taken by Kertész in the mid-1920s that transfuse the ordinary objects of daily life with both poetry and mystery.  The image offered here relates compositionally to the well-known Nature Morte, Chez Mondrian (1926) and La Fourchette (1928), and is evidence of the photographer’s transforming and inventive eye.  Skillfully composed, Kertész’s still life compositions from this period acknowledge the natural geometries of everyday objects. 

This early print comes originally from the collection of Florent Fels (1891-1977), the influential French author, editor, and publisher.  In one of the earliest critical assessments of Kertész’s work, Fels described the photographer as ‘un prestigieux créateur de poèmes, et ses métaphores sont d’humbles objets’ ('a prestigious poet, and his metaphors are humble objects') (‘Le premier salon indépendant de la photographie,’ L’Art vivant, 1 June 1928, p. 445). 

On the heels of Kertész’s one-man exhibition at Au Sacre du Printemps, Fels invited Kertész to participate in the 1928 Premier salon indépendant de la photographie (Salon de l'escalier), an alternative to the established Salon de Photographie.  The following year, Fels prominently featured 7 of Kertész’s photographs in L’Art vivant in a double-page spread with an accompanying interview by Jean Galotti.  Fels continued to highlight Kertész’s photography, including it in Voilà, the 1930s arts magazine.

The present photograph was likely used for exhibition during Kertész’s years in Paris: its finished quality, presented as it is on a vellum mount, and signed and dated by the photographer on the mount, is characteristic of his exhibition prints.  

Extant prints of this image are rare.  At the time of this writing, only three other prints of this image are known, including one sold in these rooms in the 2006 auction of Important Photographs from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including Works from the Gilman Paper Company Collection.   The negative for this image was donated in 1984 to the Médiathèque de l'architecture et du patrimoine in Paris.