Galerie Pétridès, Paris
Ohana Gallery, London
Galerie Pierre Levy, Paris
Jean Fabris, Paris
Acquired from the above in 2008

Tokyo, Grand Magasin Mitsukoshi & traveling, Valadon, Huiles et dessins de 1889 à 1938. Utrillo, Huiles et gouaches de 1905 à 1938, 1972, no. 50, illustrated in the catalogue
Tokyo, Isetan Gallery & traveling, Maurice Utrillo et Suzanne Valadon, 1978-79, no. 67, illustrated in the catalogue
Bologna, Galleria Marescalchi, Maurice Utrillo: l'impalpabile riflesso della malinconia, 1993, n.n., illustrated in color in the catalogue
Monaco, Musée océanographique, Maurice Utrillo V,, n.n., illustrated in color in the catalogue
Paris, Musée de Montmartre, Maurice Utrillo, Suzanne Valadon, Andre Utter: Dans un jardin extraordinaire, 1996-97, n.n.
Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo, & Yokohama, Takashimaya Art Gallery & Hakodate, Hakodate Museum of Art, Maurice Utrillo, 130e anniversaire de sa naissance, 2013, no. 48, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Paul Pétridès, L'Oeuvre complet de Maurice Utrillo, vol. III, Paris, 1969, no. 1406, illustrated p. 56

This work is in very good condition. The canvas is unlined. The surface is clean and the colors are bright and fresh. A few scattered lines of faint and stable craquelure are visible in the thickest layers of impasto. Frame abrasion is visible to the extreme perimeter. A few nailhead size losses to upper left and upper right corners. Under UV light no inpainting is apparent.
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.

“Maurice Utrillo is the painter of Montmartre,” wrote writer-turned-art-dealer Louis Libaude in the introduction to the catalogue for the first exhibition of Utrillo paintings in 1913 (quoted in Maurice Utrillo (exhibition catalogue), Carnegie Institute Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, 1963, n.p.). In the present work, Utrillo masterfully evokes the essence of Montmartre, yet, unlike the Impressionists, who painted their subjects from direct observation en plein air, Utrillo preferred to work in private, painting from post cards, photographs, and oftentimes simply memory. Alfred Werner marvels at the artist’s ability to capture the “aroma” of Montmartre: “Utrillo’s works make it perfectly clear to a visitor to the hill of Montmartre—where many little streets and public buildings are almost completely unchanged since the artist’s day, except for the additional patina acquired in five or six decades—that it is an artist’s task to reveal to us an aspect of his subject matter that escapes us in ordinary experience. Matter-of-fact and unromantic as Utrillo may have seemed to be while laboring at a piece of canvas or cardboard, he was actually a poet who achieved an emotional equilibrium, an inward harmony, that is only rarely attained. The traveler, especially the hurried one, is usually confused by the jumble of objects that clamor for his attention. The painter-poet, singling out a motif, leads us out of confusion to the highest state of mind-clarity. The good Utrillos…make us see what we otherwise would not” (Alfred Werner, Maurice Utrillo, New York, 1981, p. 40).