Vilhelm Hammershøi

Paul M. Warburg, New York (by 1918. Warburg, 1868-1932, was a prominent German-born American banker)
Mrs Bettina Warburg Grimson (daughter of the above)
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York
Warren Adelson, New York (acquired in 1991)
Verner Åmell, London (after 1998)
Purchased from the above by the present owner in 2000

New York, Adelson Galleries, Danish Painting at the Turn of the Century, 1991
Brooklyn, The Brooklyn Museum, 1993-94 (on loan)
Copenhagen, Ordrupgaard; Paris, Musée d'Orsay; New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum: Vilhelm Hammershøi, 1864-1916: Danish Painter of Solitude and Light, 1997-98, no. 60, illustrated in the catalogue
London, Royal Academy of Arts; Tokyo, National Museum of Western Art: Hammershøi, 2008-09, no. 60 (London), no. 58 (Tokyo), illustrated in the catalogues

Alfred Bramsen & Sophus Michaëlis, Vilhelm Hammershøi, Kunstneren og hans værk, Copenhagen & Christiania, 1918, p. 108, no. 326, catalogued & described
Ola Billgren & Paul Osipow, Hammershøi, Hellerup, 1995, no. 105
Susanne Meyer-Abich, Vilhelm Hammershøi: Das malerische Werk, PhD thesis, Ruhr-Universität, Bochum, 1996, no. 315

The painting is less yellow-green, and the white parts of the wall and doorframe cleaner, in reality than in the catalogue illustration. The following condition report has been provided by Hamish Dewar Ltd., 13 & 14 Mason's Yard, London SW1Y 6BU: UNCONDITIONAL AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE Structural Condition The canvas is unlined and is securely attached to what certainly appears to be the original keyed wooden stretcher. This is providing a secure and stable structural support. Paint surface The paint surface has an even varnish layer. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows the lighter areas of the painting have been selectively cleaned, leaving the darker areas covered in an older yellowed varnish. Inspection under ultra-violet light also shows small, carefully applied scattered retouchings which are mainly concentrated in the upper left, upper right and lower right corners of the composition. There are some very small spots of retouching to the figure's neck and left elbow, small spots to the floorboards, and some thin lines of retouching in the the light pigments of the right-hand doorframe. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in very good and stable condition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Interior with Stove was painted in the dining room of the artist’s apartment at Strandgade 30 in Copenhagen, the setting for Hammershøi’s most iconic interiors. The artist and his wife Ida – who became his favourite model and is seen here from behind – lived in the flat from 1898 until 1909, the year in which the present work was painted. For Hammershøi, the rooms became the stage set for exploring his fascination with the play of light over geometric shapes. He re-visited this room in particular in several of his paintings, re-arranging items of furniture and paintings and sometimes, as here - with the exception of a small framed print - removing them altogether. The only presence besides Ida is the stove in the corner which through the absence of any other objects in the room takes on an almost anthropomorphic presence. Describing the inspiration for his still interiors, Hammershøi commented: 'The light counts for a lot, but it is the lines that I like most. The colour is subordinated, I am not indifferent to the effects of colour, indeed I work hard at their harmonisation. But when I choose a motif, it seems to me that above all it is the lines that guide me' (quoted in L'Univers poétique de Vilhelm Hammershøi, exh. cat. Ordrupgaard, Copenhagen & Paris, 1997, p. 28).