The Coln Gallery, United Kingdom
Private American Collection (sold: Sotheby Parke Bernet, London, June 28, 1978, lot 144)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Sylvie & Dominique Buisson, La Vie et l'oeuvre de Léonard-Tsuguharu Foujita, Paris, 2001, vol. I, 1987, no. 26.61, illustrated p. 387

Good condition in general. Taped into the window mount in a number of spots. Sheet is quite time darkened and somewhat brittle with scattered creases here and there. Losses to the upper and lower right corners have been backed and there is a repaired tear, 3 1/2 inches in length, at lower left corner.
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.

"Of the ex-patriot artists working in pre-War Europe during the 1920s and '30s, Leonard-Tsuguharu Foujita's oeuvre is unique. After studying Western painting at Tokyo's School of Fine Arts in 1905, the young artist was urged by his father to remain in Japan until he at least finished his artistic training.  However, in 1913, Foujita burst onto the scene in Paris, the artistic Mecca for all artists working at that time.  After meeting Picasso, Modigliani, Soutine and other titans of his milieu, Foujita made a conscientious decision to embark on creating his own artistic style and abandoned the influences of those painters.  In 1917 he held his first solo show at the Galerie Cheron and it was then that Foujita became known to the art world. The exhibited works were not oils, but watercolors that employed the traditional Japanese media: fine watercolor brushes, Japanese inkstone, and sumi ink"  (Masaaki Ozaki, Leonard Foujita, (exhibition catalogue), National Museum of Modern Art, T♒okyo, 2006, p. 188). 

Through trial and error, Foujita's technique improved, becoming increasingly fluid and distinguished.  "It was at the Salon d'Automne held in 1921 that Foujita established himself significantly in the Parisian art world.  The three works he submitted were acclaimed as the highlight of the exhibition and proved extremely popular.  In particular, the beautiful white ground supporting the overall image was an expression only Foujita could accomplish employing a technique of his own" (op. cit., p. 188).  Self-portraiture and Foujita are synonymous in his oeuvre and as early as 1921, Foujita's distinctive bangs begi🌄n to ꧃populate his imagery.  The present lot depicts an artist deeply absorbed in the act of creation, his isolation from the world made the more plain by his brooding expression and the intense gaze of the feline onlooker.

Fig. 1  Tsuguharu Foujita in an undated photograph, probably taken circa 1927.