The Mayor Gallery, London
Sale: Christie's, New York, May 16, 1978, lot 166
Sale: Wolfgang Ketterer, Munich, November 28-29, 1983, lot 325
Private Collection, New York (and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 12, 1987, lot 142)
Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago (acquired at the above sale)
Richard C. Himmel, Chicago (acquired from the above and sold by the estate: Sotheby's, New York, May 9, 2001, lot 477)
Acquired at the above sale

Paris, Galerie Alexandre Iolas, Journal d'un astronaute millenaire, 1969, n.n., illustrated in the catalogue
London, The Mayor Gallery, Max Ernst, 1973, no. 14
New York, M. Knoedler & Co., Surrealism in Art, 1975, no. 63

Werner Spies, Sigrid & Günter Metken & Jürgen Pech, Max Ernst Oeuvre-Katalog, Werke 1964-1969, Cologne, 2007, no. 4384, illustrated p. 272

This work is in very good condition. The board is sound but slightly bowed. There is some wear and a few nicks to the extreme edges probably due to frame abrasion. There are a few additional nicks to the board and resulting pigment loss in the lower left hand quadrant which are possibly inherent to the artist's process. The medium is slightly light struck overall though the pigments remain bright and fresh. There is slight lifting to the upper right hand corner of the sandpaper collage element. A few scattered losses to the sandpaper, possibly original.
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.

After almost ten years in Arizona, Ernst and Dorothea Tanning returned to France in 1953. The following year, he was awarded a Grand Prix at the Venice Biennale signifying the firm establishment of his reputation in Europe. This award was followed by high-profile retrospectives during the late 1950s and 60s in Europe and the United States. Ernst's work continued to show no sign of complacency as the artist continued to transform the boundaries of his medium. This is evident in Enfant de choeur, where the avian iconography of Ernst's early work appears in an entirely distinct environment. Ernst adopted as his alter-ego, a curious bird-like figure named Loplop, whose genesis he related to a moment of profound change which occurred in his childhood when his younger sister was born: “1906… A friend by the name of Hornebom, an intelligent, piebald, faithful bird dies during the night; the same night a baby, number six, enters life. Confusion in the brain of this otherwise quite healthy boy—a kind of interpretation mania, as if newborn innocence, sister Loni, had in her lust for life taken possession of the vital fluids of his favorite bird… In the boy’s mind there remains a voluntary if irrational confounding of the images of human beings with birds and other creatures; and this is reflected in the emblems of his art” (quoted in Werner Spies, Max Ernst, Loplop, The Artist’s Other Self, London, 1983, p. 10). Loplop dominates the the present work, though in this case, he is presented in a flattened and highly graphic context reminiscent of the Pop artist who were working contemporaneously.