Mr. & Mrs. Herman E. Cooper, New York

Aca Galleries, New York

F.A.R  Gallery, New York

Perls Galleries, New York

Edobori Gallery, Osaka

Acquired from the above in 1979  

Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, Marc Chagall, 1963

Tokyo Central Museum, Watercolor and drawings in the world, 1977

Tokyo, Takashimaya, Nihonbashi; Oita, Geijutsu Kaikan; Iwate, Kenmin Kaikan; Tachikawa, Takashimaya; Tamagawa, Takashimaya & Kyoto, Takashimaya, Exposition Chagall, 1980, no. G2, illustrated in the catalogue

Machida Tokyu, Seibu, Yao; Hiroshima Museum of Art & Tenmaya Okayama, Ecole de Paris, 1981, no. 24, illustrated on the cover and in c🌳olor inꦫ the catalogue 

Tokyo,  Grande Galerie Odakyu; Musée de Yamanashi, Osaka, Musee Daimaru & Musée d’Art d’Hiroshima, Marc Chagall, 1983, 🔜no. 8, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Saitama, The Museum of Modern Art, Marc Chagall,  2000, 💟no. 14, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art & Gifu, The Museum of Fine Arts, Marc Chagall-La reminiscence de l’amour, 2012, no. 52, illustrated in color 💯iꦍn the catalogue (as dating from 1927-28)

 

Franz Meyer, Marc Chagall, New York, no. 472, illustrated

Gouache, watercolor and pastel executed on cream colored card, hinged to a mat at three spots along top edge. Colors are bright and fresh and card is slightly time-darkened along lower edge. There is a ¾-inch repaired tear at the lower left corner. Diagonal creases at top two corners with associated retouches. Otherwise fine, work is in 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.

Les amoureux au clair de lune dates from Chagall's time in Paris with his young wife Bella.  The couple moved to the French capital in the early 1920s following a near decade-long exile in the Soviet Union.  The present composition is one of the images that the artist created while he was rising to prominence among the avant-garde.  Evoking one of the most enduring themes of Chagall’s oeuvre, Les amourex au clair de lune features a pair of lovers intertwined beneath the opalescent moonlight. Chagall found a strong affinity between painting and dreaming, which is beautifully reflected in this composition. Nearly fifty years after this picture's completion, Chagall wrote, “Is it not true that painting and color are inspired by love? It is our duty to color our own lives with shades of love and hope…. In art, as in life, all is possible when conceived in love” (Quoted in Pierre Provoyeur, Marc Chagall, New York, 1964).