Galleria la Tartaruga, Rome
Leo Castelli Gallery, New York
James Jacobs, New York
Jarold Evans, San Francisco
Harcourts Modern and Contemporary Art, San Francisco
Private Collection (acquired from the above in 1992)
Sale: Christie's, New York, Post War and Contemporary Art, 14 May 2009, Lot 142
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the paper tone is slightly brighter and more golden in the original, and very slightly discoloured towards the extreme edges. Condition: This work is in very good condition. Close inspection reveals a very small number of extremely faint pin-head sized spots of foxing isolated in places throughout.
"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."

Twombly's work in the 1960s investigates the process of drawing, which veers towards - and eventually becomes - an exploration of signs and writing. As Untitled from 1962 beautifully testifies, the artist analyses the nature of visual cognition and communication by investigating semiotic sign systems: by experimenting with indeterminate iconography he questions the assumptions of conventional visual vocabularies, frames of reference, and sign systems. Consequently, as the renowned critic and philosopher Roland Barthes comments, "What happens on the stage Twombly offers us (whether it is canvas or paper) is something which partakes of several kinds of event" (Roland Barthes in: Exhibition Catalogue, New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, Cy Twombly: Paintings and Drawings 1954-1977, 1979, p. 9). As with Twombly's best output Untitled mediates the boundary between figuration and abstraction, continually enticing the viewer with implied meaning and challenging the cognitive deductions inherent to signifier-referent equations. Although Twombly interrogates the ways in which artistic transactions function, this work also initiates a powerful visual effect. Indeed, this drawing stands as physical manifestation of the maxim of Twombly's forerunner, the Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé: "Everything happens by shortcut...story telling is avoided".

In spite of Twombly's graphic reduction and pared down palette, the present work brims with an abundance of energy, intense complexity and a sense of serenity. We are invited to contemplate whether, buried within his drawing are hidden messages designed for our dissection. Mediating a space between spontaneity and control, his scribbles are full of suggestive details but remain irresolute. By replacing the coloured organicism of Pollock with colourless lines whose steady, progressive rise and fall insists on their attachment to the constraint of wr🗹iting, Twombly reveals his interest in measurements and rhythms. Uniq𝄹ue to the artists approach is a myriad of esoteric cultural references that serve to communicate an interpretation of poetry, mythology, history and modernity, of which the present work is a consummate example.