Private Collection, Switzerland (acquired directly from the artist)
Galerie Boulakia, Paris
Acquired by the present owner from the above

This work is in very good condition overall. The surface is bright, fresh and clean. There is some light evidence of wear and handling toward the edges. There is an unobtrusive network of hairline craquelure in the purple painted portion to the right of the figure's face. Under Ultraviolet light inspection, there is no evidence of restoration. Unframed.
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.

Pop artist Tom Wesselmann’s celebrated Great American Nude series began in 1961, inspired by a dream concerning the phrase “red, white, and blue.” From there, he decided to paint his nudes in a palette limited to those colors and any colors associated with patriotic motifs such as gold and khaki. By 1964, he began the shaped nudes, which took their entire shape from the silhouette of the body but cropped as though it were still within a rectangular painting. Between 1961 and 1973 the artist created 100 variations on the theme: candy-pink, nubile blondes in various uninhibited poses within wholly Americanized domestic surroundings including US icons, flags, and references to the Star-Spangled Banner that utterly permeate his oeuvre. Wesselmann’s blonde-bombshell figure is a bold vision that utterly defines the language of Pop Art. 

Wesselmann created From Little Great American Nude No. 22 in 2001. The work continues the famous eponymous series committed to manipulating the female form into sensual abstraction. Consistent with other iterations, the female figure reclines with a sense of touching intimacy in the nude’s complete lack of concern at how she appears to those watching. However, this intimacy is mitigated as the woman appears faceless. The figure deals primarily with her own presence. Wesselmann left off almost all faces because the nudes were not intended to be portraits in any sense. Personality would interfere with the bluntness of the fact of the nude. When body features were included, they were those important to erotic simplification, like lips and nipples. There was no modeling, no hint at dimension.

From Little Great American Nude No. 22 also continues to brandish Americana icons with its predominant palette and inclusion of stars in the background. The vivid, patriotic variations of blue instantly arrest the gaze of the viewer, the oils complementing brilliantly with the collaged landscape glimpsed through the window. The ocean view in the distance conveys vague wave-like shapes that echo the serpentine outlines of the female form and contrast the angular red stars. The wom𝔍an’s yellow hair with a purple streak that matches her choker necklace contemporizes this iconic Wesselmann image,🤪 wittily updating the classic nude female.