藝術家身後
讓．奧都安博士，巴黎（1980年購得）
多米尼克．坎伽，巴黎（1985年購得；賣出：蘇富比，倫敦，1989年6月28日，拍品編號190）
法國私人收藏（購自上述拍賣會）
歐洲私人收藏（2002年後購於上述人士；賣出：蘇富比，紐約，2006年11月7日，拍品編號51）
現有藏家購自上述拍賣會

「從具象到抽象」，聖保羅，現代藝術館， 1949年8月，品號75
「法國的抽象藝術」，布宜諾斯艾利斯，現代藝術研究所， 1949年，品號60
「畢卡比亞」，布魯塞爾，阿波羅畫廊， 1950年，品號10
「畢卡比亞」，馬賽，坎緹尼博物館， 1962年，品號63
「弗朗西斯．畢卡比亞，1970-71」，紐約，古根海姆博物館、辛辛那提美術館、多倫多，安大略省藝術館和底特律藝術學院，品號101，圖錄附圖版
「弗朗西斯．畢卡比亞」，巴黎，龐畢度國家藝術和文化中心， 1976年，品號235，圖錄附圖版
「畢卡比亞：二十世紀藝術的花花公子和先驅」，巴黎，會議宮， 1980-81間，品號41，圖錄附圖版
「弗朗西斯．畢卡比亞，1879-1953」，布魯塞爾，依克瑟爾博物館， 1983年，品號86，圖錄附彩色圖版
「弗朗西斯．畢卡比亞」，高輪，東京都現代藝術館，西武藝術館，1984年，品號78，圖錄附彩色圖版
「弗朗西斯．畢卡比亞1879年至1953年」，馬德里，巴勃羅．魯伊斯．畢加索房間和巴塞羅那，凡達奇奧退休金儲蓄銀行， 1985年，品號158，圖錄附彩色圖版
「弗朗西斯．畢卡比亞」，尼姆，美術博物館， 1986年，品號124，圖錄附圖版
「個人的熱情，法國現代和當代藝術私人收藏」，巴黎現代藝術博物館， 1995-1996年間，品號A25.5，圖錄附圖版
「弗朗西斯．畢卡比亞：獨一無二的理想」，巴黎現代藝術博物館， 2002-03年間，圖錄附彩色圖版

《過去的藝術》，第5號，巴黎，1949年12月，附圖版
米歇爾．桑奴耶，《畢卡比亞》，巴黎，1964年，提及頁59-60
奧爾加．莫勒，《弗朗西斯．畢卡比亞》，都靈，1975年，圖版頁143
威廉．A．坎非德，《弗朗西斯．畢卡比亞：他的藝術，生活和時代》，普林斯頓大學，1979年，提到頁271，圖版無頁次
瑪麗亞．路易莎．博拉斯，《畢卡比亞》，巴黎，1985年，品號858，圖版頁477
賽爾吉．霍芍鷗，《畢卡比亞》，巴黎，1996年，圖版封底
阿蘭．祖華，《畢卡比亞》，巴黎和紐約，2002年，附圖版

Excellent condition overall. There is one small chip in the support near the edge in the upper right side about five inches to the left of the white element, which has been inpainted (visible in catalogue illustration). In the lower right corner, there has been some frame abrasion. The surface is stable and the pigments are bright.
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.

Bal nègre pulsates with an energy particular to Picabia's post-war oeuvre. Executed just two years after the conclusion of World War II, this work exemplifies the luminary status Picabia would assume for future generations of artists as the concept of abstraction took hold. Building upon the Dadaist vernacular of his earlier years, Picabia created a novel formal language in the late 1940s. Michel Seuphor wrote in an introduction to a 1948 exhibition of Picabia's work at the Galerie des Deux Iles in Paris, "The cycle is complete. Picabia has refound the sap of the Dada epoch, the same disengagement, the same anti-painting painting... In the ascending generations it is he again who shows the road of complete liberty" (quoted in William A. Camfield, op. cit., pp. 270-71).

Picabia derives the subject matter in the current work from his weekly visits to the Bal Nègre in Paris. On Saturday nights from 10 pm until dawn, Picabia would frequent these shows which featured exotic dancers from Martinique. He was joined in these ventures by Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Picabia was clearly inspired by the swirl of movement that these performances embodied and sought to capture this dynamism in a manner that evokes the earlier masterworks of Italian Futurists such as Giacomo Balla and Gino Severini. Picabia breaks away from their reliance upon naturalism, codifying his subject-matter into a series of interlocking shapes and symbols. The result is a comingling of representation and abstraction that characterizes the inception of a coming revolution in European art. Artists such as Hans Hartung and Wols will turn to his example in their groundbreaking works from the 1940s. Bal nègre captures the fervency of this crucial transition with monumentality a♐nd assurance.