Willem de Kooning

Collection of the artist
Xavier Fourcade, Inc., New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Minneapolis, Walker Art Center; Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada; Washington, D.C., The Phillips Collection; Buffalo, Albright-Knox Art Gallery; Houston, Museum of Fine Arts; St. Louis, Washington University Gallery of Art, Willem de Kooning: Drawings and Sculptures, March 1974 - June 1975, fig. 38, cat. no. 19, illustrated
Los Angeles, James Corcoran Gallery, Willem de Kooning: Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, May - June 1976
Düsseldorf, Stadtische Kunsthalle; Kunsthaus Zurich; Brussels, Palais de Beaux-Arts, American Art Between the Two World Wars, June - December 1976
New York, Xavier Fourcade, Inc., Works on Paper, Small Format Objects: From Duchamp to Heizer, February - March 1977
New York, Allan Stone Gallery, Willem de Kooning Drawings: 1920s - 1970s, October 2007 - January 2008, p. 31, illustrated in color
New York, Allan Stone Projects, Master Drawings, January 2016

Robert Hughes, "The Painter as Draftsman," Time, 17 June 1974
Judith Goldman, "Art: Modern Master Drawings," Architectural Digest, September 1977, p. 117, illustrated
Sally Yard, Willem de Kooning: The First Twenty-Six Years in New York: 1927-1952, New York 1980, no. 165, illustrated

This work is in very good condition overall. There is a slight undulation to the sheet, inherent to the artist's working method and there are artist's pinholes in each corner. There is a very minor loss to the paper along the left edge near the top. Under raking light, two minor and unobtrusive soft creases are visible in the upper right quadrant of the sheet. The colors are bright, fresh and clean. The sheet is hinged verso at each corner to the mat. Framed under glass.
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.

"Art never seems to make me peaceful or pure. I always seem to be wrapped in the melodrama of vulgarity. I do not think of inside or outside—or of art in general—as a situation of comfort." Willem de Kooning