Harry Holtzman, New York (a gift from the artist in 1945 and sold by the estate: Sotheby's, New York, November 16, 1989, lot 211)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Executed on thick cream colored paper. T-hinged to mount at two places along the upper edge of the verso. The sheet is a little mat stained and time darkened. Top edge of sheet is deckled and the left edge is folded with a 3 inch margin underneath. Some pigment shrinkage to white, most noticeable in the white figure at the right and in the yellows at the left. 6 pinholes are present a center of top edge, as well as some scattered studio stains. A few extremely minor areas of faint foxing. A few repairs along the extreme top edge of sheet and around the perimeter. Work is in 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.

The present work encapsulate's Léger's belief that, "Truth in painting is color at its fullest: red, black, yellow since pure tones in paintings is reality." This philosophy governed the color palette for the present work, in which bands and patches of primary colors overlap the figural elements of the composition and all of the figures are transparent and appear to recede into the background of the picture plane. “In his series based on divers, Léger experimented not only with the representation of the human body but also—and primarily—with painting as such, i.e. the visual subject, pictorial space and dimensions, and the relationship between color and drawing. The way had been paved with the Perroquets series in Paris, but the works in the Plongeurs series in New York were the real breakthrough (see fig. 1). In these, Léger separated color from drawing and sought to establish a new relationship between figurative and abstract painting. What he was looking for was a changed balance between the various formal elements of painting” (Daniel Kramer, “Emancipated Drawing as Modernist Figure Painting: Fernand Léger’s Mural Les plongeurs,” in Fernand Léger (exhibition catalogue), Fondation Beyeler, Basel, 2008, p. 98). The artist further describes his intentions as, “I’ve attempted to translate the character of the human body moving freely in space without touching the ground. …I’ve separated color from drawing and liberated it from shape by arranging it in large color fields without forcing it to follow the outlines of objects. It thus retains its entire force, as does the drawing” (quoted in André Warnod, “’L’Amérique ce n’est pas un pays, c’est un monde,’ dit Fernand Léger” in Arts, vol. 49, Paris, January 4, 1946, p. 2).

This gouache was given as a gift by Léger to the artist Harry Holtzman in 1945 and remained in his collection u༒ntil his death (see fig. 2). Holtzman was a key figure in American Abstraction and an important liaison for the European artist's exiled to New York during World War II, including Léger, Miró, Masso🌺n and most notably Mondrian, whose estate Holtzman became the sole executor of. In this role Holtzman was responsible for making sure Mondrian’s work was placed in collections where it would be seen and publishing his writings in English. He also taught at Brooklyn College for roughly twenty-five years.