Estate of the artist
Galerie Beyeler, Basel
Irving Galleries, Inc., Milwaukee
Private Collection, Wisconsin (acquired from the above in 1973 and sold: Sotheby's, New York, November 3, 2005, lot 390)
Acquired by the present owner in 2013

Executed on cream colored wove paper. Sheet is affixed at several places on the perimeter on verso to a mount. The sheet undulates slightly. Edges of the sheet are deckled and slightly darkened around very extreme perimeter. Sheet may be slightly faded overall, otherwise fine. 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.

Executed in 1934-35, Mère et fille is an extremely rare depiction of the theme of mother and daughter in Chagall’s artistic output. The delicate application of gouache, watercolor and pastel perfectly suits this most tender and intimate of scenes. Floating in an undetermined space surrounded by dancing petals, the daughter gazes lovingly up at her mother, who holds her close. In the period during which the work was executed (circa 1934-35) Chagall’s daughter Ida would have been about eighteen (on the cusp of adulthood) and this work is surely a celebration of the profound affection the artist felt for the beloved family unit that his wife Bella had given him. We can perhaps view the winged figure above them as a portrait of the artist himself, keeping watch over his precious wife and daughter and enveloping them in his safe and magical world of flowers and love. The tilted positioning of the central protagonists’ heads calls to mind the artist’s many depictions of floating lovers, their facial features and bodies drawing and fitting together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

The energetic handling and varied use of color and medium in the present work speaks of the creative energy and spontaneity that Chagall felt when he depicted those he held dear. This is a work about the universal feelings that love and family inspire in us all and it is testament to the fact that "the themes in Chagall's art are timeless, not confined to a single epoch of history, but reminding man of the continuity of life for generation after generation, since the earliest days of recorded time" (Susan Compton, Chagall, London, 1985, p. 14).