Galerie Simon, Paris
Dr. Gottlieb F. Reber, Lausanne (acquired from the above in 1925)
Galerie Moos, Geneva
Lucien Chaffois, Geneva
Anne Burnett Tandy, Texas (and sold by the estate: Sotheby’s, New York, November 5, 1981, lot 218)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Madrid, Galería Elvira Gonzalez, Juan Gris: Pinturas y Dibujos 1909-1927, 2006, no. 26, illustrated in color in the catalogue
Sète, Musée Paul Valery, Juan Gris: Rimes de la forme et de la couleur, 2011, n.n.

Douglas Cooper, Letters of Juan Gris, 1913-1927, London, 1956, no. CCX
Douglas Cooper, Juan Gris. Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, vol. II, 1977, Paris, no. 503, illustrated p. 328
Kosinski, Dorothy, “G.F. Reber: Collector of Cubism" in The Burlington Magazine, vol. 133, 1991, no. 1061, illustrated p. 530 (as Book with Fruit Dish)
Uwe Fleckner, Katalog der “Zweiten” Samlung Reber, in Die Moderne und ihre Sammler: Französische Kunst in deutschem Privatbesitz vom Kaiserreich zur Weimarer Republik, 2001, illustrated p. 397
Douglas Cooper, Juan Gris, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint (second edition), vol. II, Paris, 2014, no. 503, illustrated in color p. 763

The canvas is unlined. There is some light stable craquelure scattered around the composition but most notable in the red tones around the entire perimeter and in the foreground, in the white tones of the book and background. When examined under UV light there is no evidence of any restoration or retouching, the varnish obscures further reading. The pigments are fresh and strong. There is light surface dirt which would benefit from a clean. The painting is in overall 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.

Livre et compotier illustrates what Gris described as his “deductive method,” in which he set out to craft a composition with abstract shapes which would, through the painterly process, slowly materialize into figurative forms. It has been written that Gris’ output was ever marked “by a refinement of calculation and a highly original colour sense which have won him his separate place in Cubism's front rank. [The artist] remained throughout his life a solitary seeker whose calm, detached sobriety of mind was reflected as an art of ascetic purity” (Juan Gris (exhibition catalogue), Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1958, n.p.).

Firmly locked into place by a series of overlapping planes, the present composition features many of the iconic elements that comprise so many Cubist still lifes—the open and closed books, the fruit bowl, the cup, the pipe, their stark organization a direct nod to the art of Le Corbusier and the reigning aesthetic of the rappel à l’ordre that followed World War I. The book in particular, alongside the newspaper, played a unique role in the art of the Cubists; seemingly ubiquitous, the text lends a timelessness to the hermetic composition, the limitless my🥀stery of its meaning concealed in its abstraction.