Aubrey Vincent Beardsley

Leonard Smithers ;
John Lane (1907) ;
Mrs Helen Payne Whitney ;
John Hay Whitney (by descent) ;
Betsey Cushing Whitney (bequeathed) ;
Greentree Foundation (bequeathed) ;
Sale, Whitney Collection, Sotheby's New York, May 18th, 2004, lot 87 ;
Jacques Grange Collection, Paris (purchased from the above)

Paris, Galeries Shirley, Aubrey Beardsley, 1872-1898, 1907, n°39 ;
New York, Berlin Photographic Company, Catalogue of the First American Exhibition of the Original Work of Aubrey Beardsley, 1911 (I) ;
New York, Galleries of E. Gimpel and Wildenstein, Aubrey Beardsley : Loan Exhibition of Original Drawings, 1920, n°28 ; 
London, Victoria and Albert Museum, Aubrey Beardsley, 1966 ;
Kanagawa, Japan, Kawasaki City Museum, Aubrey Beardsley : A Centenary Tribute (Obur Biazur ten : seikimatsu geijutsu no hana), 1998, n°141

Savoy n°4, 1896, August 1896, reproduced on Front and first page ;
Aymer Vallance, Iconography, A Book of Fifty Drawings, London, 1897, p. 211 ;
"Second book of Fifty Drawings", in Studio, London, 1899, plate 35 ;
Henry Currie Marillier, Later Work, London, 1901, n°130 (titled Cover Design) ;
Aymer Vallance, "List of Drawings by Aubrey Beardsley" in Robert Ross, Aubrey Beardsley, London, 1909, n°146, XXV ;
Albert Eugene Gallatin, Aubrey Beardsley : Catalogue of Drawings and Bibliography, New York, 1945, n°1008 ;
R.A. Walker, The Best of Beardsley, London, 1948, plate 89 ;
Brian Reade, Aubrey Beardsley, London, 1967, pp. 356-7, n°435, illustrated plate 433 ;
Henry Mass, J.-L. Duncan and W.-G. Good, The Letters of Aubrey Beardsley, New Jersey, 1970, pp. 145-147 ;
Mark Samuel Lasner, A Selective Checklist of the Published Work of Aubrey Beardsley, Boston, 1995, n°103 ;
Simon Wilson and Linda Zatlin Gertner, Aubrey Beardsley : A Centenary Tribute, Tokyo, 1998, p. 244, n°141 ;
Linda Zatlin Gertner, Aubrey Beardsley, A catalogue raisonné, London, 2016, Volume II, n°1011

Two minor foxing spots in the background in the upper left. Perfect 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. 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."

Also known as Woman fondling Grapes, this drawing was executed in July 1896 for the cover and first page of the August 1896 Savoy. Beardsley was the newly created magazine's artistic director.

Inspired by Utamaro and Hokusai, the curtain allows us to see the rest of the room, empty, and a small part of the young lady's dressing gown. A light breeze runs through the curtain : the movement is suggested by convex/concave squares. The gentleness of the movement echoes in the young woman who is delicately approaching her lips towards the grapes presented on a phallic-shapped stand.