KENNETH VICTOR YOUNG | Untitled

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner in 1973 

This work is in good condition overall. There is evidence of handling and wear to the edges. The raw canvas has yellowed. There is a ¾ inch accretion 17 inches from the left edge and 27 inches from the bottom edge. Under close inspection there are scattered pinpoint media accretions throughout. There is a halo of pigment separation is visible around the central form. Some pinpoint areas in passages of pigment appear mismatched to the surrounding areas. Under Ultraviolet light inspection, these pinpoint areas, as well the larger accretion fluoresce darkly and have likely benefited from retouching. Unframed.
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.
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Recalling both the grandeur of the infinite and ever-expanding cosmos as well as infinitesimal ecosystems of microbial life invisible to the naked eye, Kevin Victor Young’s abstraction defies easy categorization. The present work comes from the illustrious collection of Earl Jerome Hooks, a renowned artist, teacher and collector who had a close bond with Kenneth Victor Young. Erupting in riotous tones of burnt sienna and vibrant purple, which contrasts with serene washes in a spectrum of blues, the present work runs the gamut of painterly emotion—musical in its passages of harmony and discord. Born in 1933 and raised in Kentucky, Young earned his degree in physics before joining Gallery Enterprise, an influential black artist’s group that included such luminaries as Sam Gilliam, Bob Thompson, and Robert Douglas among its ranks. Young moved to the Washington, D.C. area in the mid-1960s, becoming an essential member of the Washington Color School, subsequently earning his first solo exhibition at the Franz Bader Gallery in 1968. It was in this period that the artist came into his mature style, staining raw canvas much in the way his peers Kenneth Noland, Morris Louis, Thomas Downing, and Sam Gilliam did, but adding his painterly spin through the complex layering of Seurat-like pointillist dots with washes of vibrant, psychedelic color. Painted at the height of the artist’s career, the present work is a testament to Young’s artistic prowess and wide range of references, from the art-historical to the scientific, culminating in a canvas that inspires not only through beauty but the wonder provoked by the night sky.