Christian & Yvonne Zervos, Paris
Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above in November 1959

The work is in overall very good condition.The medium is well preserved. Executed on cream colored laid paper. Hinged to a mount at six places around the upper perimeter on the verso. The left and right edges of the sheet are deckled. The sheet is lightly time and mat stained most notable around the extreme perimeter. There are artist's pinholes in the lower corners. A nick to the sheet at center right edge as well as a few scattered spots of foxing. Some faint overall staining to the outer left margin. Otherwise fine.
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.

Juan Gris was one of the most important, accomplished and enduring adherents of Cubism, developing an original application of the aesthetic which he maintained for seventeen years. Paz García Ponce de León explains, “Juan Gris is the master of synthetic Cubism, standing well above masters such as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. He is now considered ‘the quintessential cubist,’ or, as the sculptor Lipchitz said, simply ‘the cubist’” (Paz García Ponce de León, Juan Gris: La Pasión por el Cubismo, Madrid, 2008, p. 193).

Nature morte cubist was a part of the collection Christian & Yvonne Zervos, one of the most important scholars and authors of both the art of his time and that preceeding. Perhaps best known for his seminal thirty-four volume catalogue raisonné of Pablo Picasso, still recognized as the most authoritative publication on the artist’s oeuvre, he also founded Cahiers d’art and wrote extensively on ancient the art of ancient Greece. Later with Alexander Iolas, a professional ballet dancer who later became an important gallerist representing artists from Victor Brauner to Andy Warhol, Nature morte cubiste entered the collection ofꦗ Catherine Schlumberger Jones in 1959.