Florence Chenu, France
Sonia Delaunay, Paris
Acquired from the estate of the above

Turin, Galleria Civica, Robert et Sonia Delaunay, 1960, no. 74
Cologne, Galerie Gmurzynska, Painting in the Prism: Friends of Sonia and Robert Delaunay, 1991, illustrated in the catalogue

Jacques Damase, Michel Hoog & Charles Goerg, Sonia Delaunay: Rythmes et couleurs, Paris, 1971, illustrated p. 111

Panel is sound. Surface is slightly dirty but colors are bold and vibrant. There are thin lines of vertical cracking throughout the composition but the paint layer is stable. In addition there are three horizontal lines of cracking to the left of the center of the composition and one line to the right of the center of the composition. Under UV light: several pigments fluoresce. Areas of inpainting are apparent, including a 6-inch vertical band to the right of the figure's face. There are a few vertical strokes of inpainting to the left and just below the center of the painting. Overall the work is in 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.

Sonia Terk met Robert Delaunay in Paris in the early months of 1909. Both emerging artists, the two were immediately drawn to one another and the three decades that followed were ones of unparalleled artistic collaboration. Stanley Baron writes, "All the evidence implies that the thirty years they spent together, often working side by side, continually exchanging views and ideas, and feeding each other's talent, were filled with a sense of rare unity. It is all the more extraordinary because their heritage and background were in only a few respects comparable; they seemed, all the same, to complement each other basically, to fulfill each other's needs, and to harmonize to a remarkable extent their ideas about the nature of art and their painting" (Stanley Baron, Sonia Delaunay: The Life of an Artist, London, 1995, p. 19).

The present ♐lot exemplifies Sonia Delaunay's work in the mid-1910s, when she was transitioning from figurative imagery to the purely abstract. Indeed, the 𓆏broad and richly vibrant swaths of color prefigure her later oeuvre, including the textile designs she went on to create in the 1920s.