Esther de Garay (acquired from the artist)
Garay Collection (by descent from the above)
Acquired from the a♏bove by the prꦐesent owner in 1996

Enrique Lafuente Ferrari, La Vida y el Arte de Ignacio Zuloaga, Madrid, 1950, no. 685, catalogued

Original canvas. Overall this work is in good original condition and would benefit from cleaning and revarnishing. There is a thin crack in the paint surface along a 13cm horizontal stretcher line to the left of centre (patched on the reverse), a light vertical stretcher mark in the centre, and a circa 8cm scratch above the upper left edge of her sofa (visible in the catalogue illustration). There are minor areas of localised paint shrinkage, notably in the black pigments, some of the thick grey pigments of her skirt, and in the floor in the lower centre. Ultra-violet light reveals a circa 3cm spot of retouching in the upper centre of the sofa, and a thick varnish. There appears to be a repaired puncture in the 'ag' of the signature, with associated retouching. Held in a decorative gold-painted wood and plaster frame. Her skin tones in the original are richer, and the colour of the sofa a deeper orange.
"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."

Painted in 1938, Ignacio Zuloaga's striking portrait of Esther de Garay (neé Rodriguez Bauzá) perfectly combines the artist's Spanish roots and worldly sophisticat꧂ion with the elegance and finesse of his sitter.

Zuloaga's love of bullfighting and Spanish sense of drama are evident in the sitter's brocade torero jacket, the fan she displays and the sweeping curves of the sofa on which Esther de Garay reclines. Fashionable Paris, the artist's adopted home, is evoked in the powder blue silk gown, which reaches a marked level of refinement in Zuloaga's painterly hand.🦋 

Esther de Garay y Garay (1911-1985) was one of six daughters of  the Uruguyan industrialist Herminio Ramón Rodríguez Labandera y Fernández Llameria and his remarkable wife, collector and society hostess María Bauzá. Herminio and María had moved with their family to Spain in the 1920s, bringing with them an already burgeoning art collection. Despite the death of Herminio in the early 1930s, María installed herself with her children in the Palacio de Bermejillo, purchased from the Mꦓarquess of Bermejillo just before her husband died. In the succeeding years María pursued her passion for amassing a vast number of works of art to f🎶urnish the impressive home in Paseo del Cisne.

Old Master painters featured in the collection included El Greco, Ribera, Murillo and Cranach, while two rooms were devoted to the display of Spanish modern art, one featuring the work of Zuloaga, another that of Sorolla. Other artists of the period represented included Giménez Aranda, Raimundo de Madrazo, Julio Romero de Torres and Santiago Rusiñol. María kept an open house, the palace becoming a venue for informal events and tertulias particularly on Sundays when leading voices in the world of the Arts, Let🐭ters and Sciences ๊gathered to present and exchange views on matters of the day.

Raised in such a cultured milieu, when Esther married Fernando de Garay🌠 y Garay (1906-1966), Ignacio Zuloaga was an obvious choice to paint her portrait. Esther's pose reclining with feet up on the sofa was one that Zuloaga had come to favour, having developed it in Paris through his series of depictions of his favoured Paris model Marcelle Souty (fig. 1). As well as the present work Zuloaga also completed a full-length portrait of Esther de Garay standing (see: Lafuente Ferrari, no. 686).