Alden Brooks, Paris (acquired in Paris in 1924)
Corinne Brooks Cornish, California (by descent from the above in 1964)
Private Collection, California (by descent from the above in 1997)

Canvas is unlined and bears a rich and textured impasto. Under UV light a layer of varnish is slightly difficult to read through. Flecks of gold from the frame fluoresce along the top edge of the work. The canvas is rather dirty and could benefit from a clean. This work is in very 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.
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One of the century's greatest painters of urban scenes, Maurice Utrillo rose to fame in the early 1900s with his atmospheric depictions of French cityscapes. Most often Utrillo's stark compositions centered upon churches or cathedrals. Maurice Vlaminck said of Utrillo, "The most spectacular paintings are perhaps certain cathedrals which contain a true mystic power. When Utrillo paints the imposing bulk of a basilica, or the pointed spire of the village chapel, he unconsciously expresses the love that man feels towards the Creator" (quoted in Gustave von Groschwitz, Maurice Utrillo (exhibition catalogue), Carnegie Institute of Art, Pittsburgh, 1963, p. 4).

Utrillo painted with a quiet sensitivity that mirrors the stoic cathedrals which populate many of his compositions. He routinely displayed a melancholic fascination with the streets and cityscapes of the French suburbs surrounding his home of Montmartre. Utrillo’s work maintains a meditative aura both through a connection with frequent religious centerpieces in his subject matter and also through his painting's formal qualities with his quiet compositions and calm color palette.

Posing a stark contrast to Utrillo's Fauve contemporaries, the present work was created toward the end of this artist's periode blanche (“White Period”) when from 1909-14 pale shades of white with complements of soft greys and light blues dominated his compositions. This “White Period” is often cited as the pinnacle of Utrillo's career. The paintings, with their flattened, almost geometric style set the stage for artists such as Giorgio Morandi and Ben Nicholson to soon follow in creating similarly muted compositions. As Adolphe Tabarant describes, "At this time Utrillo uses a palette of many whites, but these never become chalky or dull. He surrounds them with soft greys, delicate pinks, deep blues, or else contrasts them with sonorous browns and blacks" (Adolphe Tabarant, Utrillo, Paris, 1926, p. 168).

The present work comes from the collection of the family of Alden Brooks. Brooks, a noted writer, moved to France from the United States in 1908. He served in the French military in World War I and worked as a newspaper correspondent for the New York Times and Colliers. The present work, one of Utrillo’s most sensitively handled compositions of the period, depicts the Église Saint Léger in Soissons. This church and the surrounding town were heavily damaged during German shelling and occupation during the war.