Neil Jenney

Thomas Gibson, New York
Private Collection
Christie’s, New York, 17 May 2000, Lot 174
Gagosian Gallery, New York
Private Collection, New York (acquired from the above by the present owner in 2004)

New York, Gagosian Gallery, Neil Jenney: The Bad Years 1969-70, March - April 2001, p. 40, illustrated in color
New York, Gagosian Gallery, What's Modern?, November - December 2004, illustrated in color

This work is in very good condition overall. There is very light evidence of wear and handling along the edges of the artist's frame with several minor losses visible. There are scattered media accretions present throughout the surface of the canvas, all likely from the time of execution and inherent to the artist’s working process. All inconsistencies to the texture of the canvas and a small smudge in the top left quadrant also appear to be from the time of execution and part of the artist’s working method. Under Ultraviolet light inspection, several drip accretions fluoresce lightly but do not appear to be the result of restoration. Framed in artist's frame.
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.

"In December 1968 Neil Jenney made an unconventional decision for a progressive artist of that time—he gave up his environmental or theatrical sculptural installations of the preceding two years for 'image' painting. Often referred to as 'Bad Painting'—or what Jenney has termed his 'Unconcerned Style'—because of its purposefully simplified and sometimes crude imagery and its ostensibly careless handling of paint, Jenney's extraordinary production of 1969 and 1970 nevertheless maintained a real link with the conceptual traditions he seemed to leave behind...For Jenney the conjunction of image and language points to the paradox of 'content': its unsuspected instability and its susceptibility to multiple interpretation or abstraction." 
Elisabeth Sussman, "Neil Jenney's Realism," in Exh. Cat., New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, Neil Jenney, Natural Rationalism, 1994, p. 2