Max Pellequer, Paris
Galerie Beyeler, Basel
Acquired from the above

Jacques Dupin & Ariane Lelong-Mainaud, Joan Miró, Catalogue Raisonné, Drawings, 1938-1959, vol. II, Paris, 2010, no. 877, illustrated p. 50

Executed on printed card, not laid down. The right edge is slightly where the sheet has been extracted from a catalogue. A remnant of old framer's tape is visible on the verso of the upper edge. There is an artist's pinhole in each corner and the center of each edge. Otherwise, apart from some minor time-darkenening, this work is in excellent 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.

The onset of the Spanish Civil War exiled Miró to France between 1936 and 1940. The years spent in Paris, witnessing from afar the victory of General Franco, were the catalyst for the production of works from the so-called “savage period.” The Nazi invasion of Western Europe in 1939 forced Miró to return to his native Spain, where he spent the war years producing some of his most compelling works.

The theme of escape is clearly reflected in L’Échelle de l’evasion et l’étoille de l’éspoir. Less dark than other works Miró painted during the years of his French exile, the present work depicts three fleeing figures and further features Miró’s ladder of escape and star of hope, m♌otifs of op🐈timism and bridges between reality and imagination, earth and heaven.

In the mid-1920s, Miró experimented with poetic titles, sometimes transcribing them directly to the canvas. By the early 1930s, he decided that poetic titles or almost any titles except those of the most non-descriptive kind (e.g. Figure, Personnage, etc.) lent themselvꦐes to interpretations he wished to avoid. It was not until the late 1930s, as with the present work, when Miró returned to providing his works with eloquent titles, most of which came to him during the act of painting.