Galerie Zlotowski, Paris 
Acquired from the above in 2009

The canvas is not lined. UV examination reveals some intermittent small retouchings to all four extreme edges and a further few spots and lines of retouching in the composition, the most prominent of which are to the upper right corner of the lower left quadrant. There are some fine lines of slightly raised craquelure in places and a few small paint losses to the upper left corner. This work is in overall fairly 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.

Originally an Impressionist and Fauve painter, Herbin moved to the Bateau-Lavoir studios in 1909 and soon began painterly exploration with an evolving Cubist aesthetic. It was at the Bateau-Lavoir studios that he met Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Juan Gris, artists who undoubtedly encouraged him to gravitate toward a more abstracted means of pictorial representation. In keeping with Cézanne's call to treat nature as "the cylinder, the cone and the sphere," Herbin began reducing his subjects into a series of cylindrical shapes and geometric patterns.

The artist began to gradually immerse himself into pure geometric abstraction during the 1920s. Unlike Braque's and Picasso's early Cubist work, Herbin contꦚinuously employed a full palette of color with deep reds, greens and blues, as expressively demonstrated in the present painting, a particularly large and courageous example of the artist's vanguard output of this period.

Fig. 1 Auguste Herbin, Composition (Grande vitesse), 1927, oil o🍸n canvas, sold: Sotheby's, 🅘New York, November 7, 2013, lot 166 for $605,000