Lot DetailsAuthenticity guaranteedAuthenticity guaranteedPaul Klee1879 - 1940
Die Hoffnungslosen (The Hopeless Ones)signed Klee (upper left); titled, dated 1914 and numbered 58. (on the artist's mount)watercolour and pen and ink on paper bordered with strips of silver paper tape laid down on the artist's mountImage: 11 by 21.4cm., 4⅜ by 8⅜in.Mount: 24 by 32.5cm., 9½ by 12¾in. Framed: 34.2 by 41cm., 13½ by 16⅛in.Executed in 1914.Condition reportExecuted on cream laid paper, laid down on the artist's mount. The mount is secured by picture corners to a window mat. There are artist pinholes to the corners of the mount. There is moderate discoloration along the top and bottom edges of the mount likely from a past adhesive and minor bumping to the upper right corner of the mount, not visible when framed. There is one small nick to the top centre of the mount and a 2.5cm discoloration to the extreme right edge of the mount, all of which are not visible when framed. The sheet is very slightly burnt at the extreme edges, which is not distracting. There are a few scattered light spots of foxing in places, most visible in the purple figure in the upper right quadrant and in the green figure in the lower right quadrant. This work is in overall very good condition
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.ProvenanceIsrael Ber Neumann (Graphisches Kabinett, New Art Circle, Neumann Gallery), New York
Willard Gallery, New York (acquired from the above in 1939)
Private Collection, New York
Thence by descent to the present ownerLiteratureWill Grohmann, Paul Klee London, 1954, no. 87, illustrated p. 135
Gert Schiff, 'Paul Klee at the Guggenheim' in Artforum, March 1967, illustrated p. 50
John Russell, The Meanings of Modern Art, New York, 1981, illustrated p. 250
Mark Roskill, Klee, Kandinsky, and the Thought of Their Time. A Critical Perspective, Chicago, 1992, no. 15, illustrated n.p.
Paul Klee Stiftung (ed.), Paul Klee Catalogue Raisonné, 1934-1938, Bern, 2000, vol. II, no. 1167, illustrated p. 162ExhibitedMunich, Galerie Neue Kunst Hans Goltz, Paul Klee 1920, no. 65
New York, Neumann-Willard Gallery, Paul Klee 1939, no. 3
New York, Buchholz Gallery (Curt Valentin) & Willard Gallery (Marian Willard), Paul Klee 1940, no. 3
Northampton, Smith College; Chicago, Arts Club of Chicago; Portland, The Portland Art Museum; San Francisco, The San Francisco Museum of Art; Los Angeles, The Stendahl Galleries; St. Louis, City Art Museum; Wellesley, Wellesley College & New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Paul Klee Memorial Exhibition, 1941, no. 4
Houston, Contemporary Arts Museum, The Magical Worlds of Redon Klee Baziotes, 1957, n.n
Denver, Denver Art Museum, Paul Klee in Review, 1963
Baltimore, Baltimore Museum of Art, 1914: An exhibition of paintings, drawings and sculpture created in 1914; In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Baltimore Museum of Art, 1964, no. 106, illustrated in the catalogue
California, UCLA Art Galleries; San Francisco, San Francisco Museum of Art & Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art, Years of ferment; The Birth of Twentieth Century Art 1886-1914, 1965, no. 101
New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Paul Klee 1879-1940. A Retrospective Exhibition, 1967, no. 16, illustrated in the catalogue
Basel, Kunsthalle Basel, Paul Klee 1879-1940, 1967, no. 20, pl. 6, illustrated in the catalogue
Paris, Musée national d'art moderne, Paul Klee Irony at work, 2016, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Lot DetailsAuthenticity guaranteedAuthenticity guaranteedPaul Klee1879 - 1940
Die Hoffnungslosen (The Hopeless Ones)signed Klee (upper left); titled, dated 1914 and numbered 58. (on the artist's mount)watercolour and pen and ink on paper bordered with strips of silver paper tape laid down on the artist's mountImage: 11 by 21.4cm., 4⅜ by 8⅜in.Mount: 24 by 32.5cm., 9½ by 12¾in. Framed: 34.2 by 41cm., 13½ by 16⅛in.Executed in 1914.Condition reportExecuted on cream laid paper, laid down on the artist's mount. The mount is secured by picture corners to a window mat. There are artist pinholes to the corners of the mount. There is moderate discoloration along the top and bottom edges of the mount likely from a past adhesive and minor bumping to the upper right corner of the mount, not visible when framed. There is one small nick to the top centre of the mount and a 2.5cm discoloration to the extreme right edge of the mount, all of which are not visible when framed. The sheet is very slightly burnt at the extreme edges, which is not distracting. There are a few scattered light spots of foxing in places, most visible in the purple figure in the upper right quadrant and in the green figure in the lower right quadrant. This work is in overall very good condition
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.ProvenanceIsrael Ber Neumann (Graphisches Kabinett, New Art Circle, Neumann Gallery), New York
Willard Gallery, New York (acquired from the above in 1939)
Private Collection, New York
Thence by descent to the present ownerLiteratureWill Grohmann, Paul Klee London, 1954, no. 87, illustrated p. 135
Gert Schiff, 'Paul Klee at the Guggenheim' in Artforum, March 1967, illustrated p. 50
John Russell, The Meanings of Modern Art, New York, 1981, illustrated p. 250
Mark Roskill, Klee, Kandinsky, and the Thought of Their Time. A Critical Perspective, Chicago, 1992, no. 15, illustrated n.p.
Paul Klee Stiftung (ed.), Paul Klee Catalogue Raisonné, 1934-1938, Bern, 2000, vol. II, no. 1167, illustrated p. 162ExhibitedMunich, Galerie Neue Kunst Hans Goltz, Paul Klee 1920, no. 65
New York, Neumann-Willard Gallery, Paul Klee 1939, no. 3
New York, Buchholz Gallery (Curt Valentin) & Willard Gallery (Marian Willard), Paul Klee 1940, no. 3
Northampton, Smith College; Chicago, Arts Club of Chicago; Portland, The Portland Art Museum; San Francisco, The San Francisco Museum of Art; Los Angeles, The Stendahl Galleries; St. Louis, City Art Museum; Wellesley, Wellesley College & New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Paul Klee Memorial Exhibition, 1941, no. 4
Houston, Contemporary Arts Museum, The Magical Worlds of Redon Klee Baziotes, 1957, n.n
Denver, Denver Art Museum, Paul Klee in Review, 1963
Baltimore, Baltimore Museum of Art, 1914: An exhibition of paintings, drawings and sculpture created in 1914; In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Baltimore Museum of Art, 1964, no. 106, illustrated in the catalogue
California, UCLA Art Galleries; San Francisco, San Francisco Museum of Art & Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art, Years of ferment; The Birth of Twentieth Century Art 1886-1914, 1965, no. 101
New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Paul Klee 1879-1940. A Retrospective Exhibition, 1967, no. 16, illustrated in the catalogue
Basel, Kunsthalle Basel, Paul Klee 1879-1940, 1967, no. 20, pl. 6, illustrated in the catalogue
Paris, Musée national d'art moderne, Paul Klee Irony at work, 2016, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
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