Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris
Perls Galleries, New York
Sonia Henie-Onstad, Oslo (by 1960)
Beniamino Levi Arte Moderna, Milan
Galerie Bischofberger, Zurich
Acquired from the above by the present owner in March 1976

Basel, Kunsthalle Basel, Fernand Léger, 1957
Oslo, Kunstnernes Hus, Sonja Henie - Niels Onstad Samlingen, 1960-61, no. 28

Pierre Cabanne, De la peinture: Matisse - Picasso - Valadon - Léger - Chagall - Miró, Paris, 1973, illustrated in colour p. 241

The canvas is not lined and there is no retouching visible under UV light. Apart from a very slight uneven varnish, this work is in very good condition. Colours: The white tones in the background of the composition are whiter and the work is overall brighter and more varied in the original.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The visual and psychological interplay of opposing forms and aesthetics underpinned Léger's most dynamic works during the 1950s, powerfully exemplified in Un Arbre sur un fond rouge. Treating the patches of colour independently of the linear elements, Lég🌞er✱ subverted the conventions of pictorial representation.

Léger juxtaposed the organic with the structural in the present work, the drafted black outlines of the static tree challenged by overlapping flat blocks of colour, hovering between figuration and abstraction. The greater freedom with which the artist applied colour by 1954, the date of the present work, heightened this dynamic. As Léger commented, 'Modern subject, whether social or other, are valid insofar as this law of contrasts is respected; otherwise one falls back on the classical picture of the Italian Renaissance' (quoted in Werner Schmalenbach, Fernand Léger, New York, 1976, p. 162).

Reflecting his social tendencies and desire for art to be accessible to the masses, Léger's undermining of standard conventions rejected the traditional methods of appreciating a work of art demanding instead a revised set of rules, governed by instinct and visualisation in place of educat⛦ion and class.