Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York
Acquis auprès de celle-ci par le propriétaire actuel en 1967

Paris, Galerie René Drouin, Tableaux et dessins de Jean Dubuffet, 20 octobre - 18 novembre 1944; catalogue, no.43, illustré
New York, Pierre Matisse Gallery, Paintings by Jean Dubuffet: 1943-1949, 24 janvier - 8 février 1950; catalogue, no.5, illustré

Louis Parrot, Jean Dubuffet, Paris, 1944, no. 22, illustré
Max Loreau, Catalogue des Travaux de Jean Dubuffet, Fascicule I: Marionnettes de la ville et de la campagne, Paris, 1993, p.161, no. 237, illustré

The colours are fairly accurate in the catalogue illustration although the overall tonality is less contrasted in the original work. The masonite is mounted on a stretcher. There are some hairline, superficial and stabilized cracks on the cheeks, visible in the catalogue illustration. Under Ultra Violet light inspection, there is no evidence of restoration. 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. 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."

The Art of Inspiration: The Jerome H. Stone Collection

“Do things here and now, not after you’re gone.  If you have some money, share it.  And if you have some time, do something worthwhile.”  -- Jerome H. Stone

Jerome H. Stone, businessman, civic leader and coꦅllector, epitomized the varied sentiments of this personal motto throughout his long and storied 101-year life.  A precocious and intellectually curious child of Russian Jewish immigrants in Chicago, Mr. Stone worked tirelessly to help support his family.  His energies succeeded in turning a simple family corrugated box business into a multi-billion dollar firm, Stone Container Corporation💦.

With the same vigor, Mr. Stone turned his private attentions to the public institutions that had nurtured both his own personal development and that of the city around him.  Impressed that the local Roosevelt University had developed a curriculum of classes tailored to working adult students, Mr. Stone joined the Board of Trustees in 1953 and served as its chairman from 1969 through 1ღ984.  His passion for Chicago, art and culture compelled him to be a primary fundraiser in the efforts to build the current Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, helping to fundamentally transform the institution into the architectural and c𒈔ivic landmark it is today.

However, Mr. Stone’s most significant and perhaps lasting contribution was for the most personal and poignant of reasons.  While a teenager, Mr. Stone was presented to a sophisticated, well-traveled young woman named Evelyn, who had been the valedictorian of her high school class, was fluent in several languages and was a skilled violinist and pianist.&nb🐭sp; Evelyn would later become his wife and the mother of his three children, and together in their home the couple would build an outstanding Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary art collection celebrating bold colors, graphic lines and industrial energy.

Unfortunately, and tragically, at the prime of both Mr. Stone’s personal and professional successes, Evelyn was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, then a little-understood condition.  Mr. Stone “watched with deep frustration as the mysterious disease took hold of his wife, hollowing out a woman who had once brimmed with talent and a zest for life.”[i]  At the time of her diagnosis, there was little information on Alzheimer’s available even amongst the medical community.  Mr. Stone researched the disease himself and served alongside Evelyn’s caregivers until her death in 1983 at the age of 67.  In 1979, Mr. Stone was invited to a meeting of other support groups interested in creating a broader organization for families and to promote research.  On December 4, 1979, at the first official meeꦛting of the Alzheimer’s Association, Mr. Stone was elected the founding presideℱnt.

Over the course of more than a century of family life, business achievement and philanཧthropic endeavors, Jerome H. Stone’s career and personal accomplishments are the very embodiment of worthwhile, and nothing short of extraordinary.

[i]Chicago Sun-Times, Stefano Esposito, “Jerome Stone: Successful businessman, d♛riving force behind Alzheimer’s Asꦬsociation,” 1/2/15