JEAN DUBUFFET | Portrait of Jules Supervielle

Galerie Daniel Cordier, Paris
B.C. Holland Gallery, Chicago
Private Collection, Chicago (acquired from the above)
Sotheby’s, New York, 12 November 2014, Lot 214
Collection of William Louis-Dreyfus, Mt. Kisco, New York (acquired from the above sale)
Gift of the above to the William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation in 2016

Paris, Galerie René Drouin, Portraits à ressemblance extraite, à ressemblance cuite et confite dans la mémoire, à ressemblance éclatée dans la mémoire de M. Jean Dubuffet, peintre, October 1947, cat. no. 66
Paris, Galerie Berggruen, Rétrospective des dessins de Jean Dubuffet, October - November 1960
Paris, Musée des arts décoratifs, Jean Dubuffet 1942-1960, December 1960 - February 1961, cat. no. 248, pl. 118, illustrated
New York, Morgan Library & Museum; Los Angeles, Hammer Museum, Dubuffet Drawings 1935-1962, September 2016 - April 2017, cat. no. 33, p. 130, illustrated in color

Max Loreau, Ed., Catalogue des travaux de Jean Dubuffet, Fascicule III: Plus beaux qu'ils croient, Paris 1966, cat. no. 144, p. 97, illustrated
Jean Dubuffet, "Les personnes que je trouve belles...," Le Nouvel Observateur, 21-27 August 1967, illustrated
Michel Thévoz, "Variations physiognomoniques de Töppfer à Dubuffet," Les Temps Modernes, No. 258, November 1967, illustrated
Andreas Franzke, Dubuffet Zeichnungen, Munich 1980, p. 63, illustrated
Alexandre Vialatte, Jean Dubuffet et le Grand Magma, Paris 1988, p. 19, illustrated
Jan Kříž, Jean Dubuffet, Prague 1989, cat. no. 16, p. 27, illustrated

This work is in very good condition overall. There is light evidence of wear and handling to the edges, including a horizontal crease that runs along the upper edge. The sheet has discolored slightly with age and is slightly wrinkled throughout. Under very close inspection, there is a very small hole in the figure's chin and a small hole in the upper right corner, and there is a minor spot accretion in the lower left corner which is obscured by the top mat. The sheet is hinged verso to the mat at the top. Framed under Plexiglas.
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.

"The work of this poet [Jules Supervielle] does not interest me very much; it is just by chance that I was induced to do his portrait, and this undertaking was not motivated by my having been particularly attracted by his work. However, I have to mention that his physical appearance (he is a tall, lean, stooping devil, whose head—tottering constantly—with the expression of a camel) seemed to lend itself to a portrait which might serve my intentions."
Jean Dubuffet