Sale: Doyle, New York, April 28, 2010, lot 488
Acquired at the above sale

Fayetteveille, North Carolina, McCune Gallery, Methodist University & traveling, Picasso, 25 Years of Edition Ceramics from the Rosenbaum Collection, 2014, n.n., illustrated in color in the catalogue

The ceramic is sound. The edges are uneven, inherent to the artist's creative process. There is some thin crazing to the glaze. On the reverse, there is one half-inch loss to the glaze, likely inherent to the firing process. On the reverse, there are some scattered areas of light abrasion to the glaze. The 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 is the unique ceramic, created by Picasso, which the potters in Madoura used as a basis for a later edition.

Picasso incorporated animals into his earliest drawings as a young student in Spain. As an adult, his menagerie of pets included a goat which roamed his estate grounds, an owl with whom he shared his studio and a faithful dachshund he affectionately named Lump. Each of these characters provided subject matter and inspiration for Picasso’s work. From those beasts that inhabited his studio, to the bullfighting rings he regularly visited, to the marine life found in the nearby Mediterranean, the animal world provided consistent inspiration for creative exploration in both two and three dimensions.

Beginning in the 1920s and 1930s, Picasso made a habit of spending the summers with his family on the Côte d’Azur, where the landscape and culture reminded him of his upbringing along the Catalan coast. During one such trip in the summer of 1946, Picasso by chance discovered ceramics as a new outlet for his creative impulse during a visit to the Madoura Pottery of Suzanne and Georges Ramié. Motivated partially by his enthusiasm for working with clay, Picasso began to spend more and more time near Vallauris, acquiring a villa there in 1949.

Picasso’s ceramics from this period are filled with imagery of animals both natural and mythological, as he worked to transform, quite literally, earth into art. The present work captures Picasso’s love for the creatures of the Mediterranean, which he imbues with a whimsy and playfulness that characterize his greatest works in clay.

Claude Picasso has confirmed the authenticity of this work.