Gallery Maeght, Paris
Private Collection
Private Collection, Geneva (and sold: Sotheby's New York, November 8, 2006, lot 452)
Acquired at the above sale

Roland Penrose, Miró, London, 1970, no. 112, illustration of another cast p. 148
James J. Sweeney, Francesc Català-Roca, Joaquim Gomis & Joan Prats, Joan Miró, Barcelona, 1970, illustration of another cast p. 195
Miró: Sculpture in Bronze and Ceramic, 1967-69, and Recent Etchings and Lithographs (exhibition catalogue), Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, 1970, no. 21, illustration of another cast
Miró Sculptures (exhibition catalogue), Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland & Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 1971-72, no. 62, illustration of another cast
Joan Miró: Das Plastische Werk (exhibition catalogue), Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich, 1972, no. 49, illustration of another cast
Jacques Dupin, Miró Escultor, Barcelona, 1972, illustration of another cast p. 128
Sculptures de Miró, céramiques de Miró et Llorens Artigas (exhibition catalogue), Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul, 1973, no. 67, illustration of another cast p. 70
Pintura, escultura i sobreteixims de Miró a la Fundació (exhibition catalogue), Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, no. 199, illustration of another cast
Alain Jouffroy & Joan Teixidor, Miró Sculptures, Paris, 1980, no. 92, illustration of another cast p. 48
Miró escultor (exhibition catalogue), Sala de Exposiciones del Centro de Servicios de la Caja de Pensiones "la Caixa," Barcelona, 1980, no. 11, illustration of another cast
Hommage à Joan Miró (exhibition catalogue), Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul, 1984, no. 117, illustration of another cast
Miró escultor (exhibition catalogue), Centro Reina Sofia, Madrid, 1986-87, no. 14, illustration of another cast p. 57
Fundació Joan Miró, Obra de Joan Miró, Barcelona, 1988, no. 1493, illustration of another cast p. 406
Joan Miró (exhibition catalogue), Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1994, no. 20, color illustration of another cast p. 303
Joan Miró: Le metamorfosi della forma, Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, 1999, illustration of another cast p. 142
Emilio Fernández Miró & Pilar Ortega Chapel, Joan Miró, Sculptures. Catalogue Raisonné 1928-1982, Paris, 2006, no. 115, color illustration of another cast p. 127

Mottled green and grey patina. There are areas of surface dirt and rust-coloured moisture marks throughout, though the mottled texture and coloration are likely intrinsic to the work's patination. 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.
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.

Many of Miró's late sculptures are assemblages of found objects which he cast in bronze. According to Duncan Macmillan, "From these transformed objects, Miró produces personnages, women, birds, and combinations of all three. These new creations are invested with the mysterious animation of the artist's touch and yet retain an unbreakable link with the ordinary. They become a metaphor for the infinite variety and absolute peculiarity of human individuality" (Duncan Macmillan, "Miró's Public Art" in Miró in America (exhibition catalogue), Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, p. 111). The present work illustrates Miró’s capacity to break with convention and create a truly unique composition. The touch of the artist’s hand lingers on the rough, disproportionate and asymmetrical figure, instilling the work with seldom visible vestiges of the creative process. As a result, Femme is more than merely a final product of artistic vision; it is imbued with a character belonging to the realm somewhere between conception and execution. Like much of the artist’s work, the composition departs from representation and reality in an attempt to stimulate the imagination.

It is also worth noting that this is one of only three casts of this bronze remaining in private hands. Of t𓆏he other three examples in public collections, one is now displayed at the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona, the second at the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence and the third at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid.