Lot 48 : GRANT WOOD
Auction Location: United States of America - 2002
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Description:
(American 1891-1942) "Sleeper on the Quay, Paris" Oil on canvas Signed lower left "Grant Wood, Paris-1925" Titled on verso. 13"x16" Provenance: Grant Wood Mr.& Mrs. Worth S. Averill, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Thence by decent through the family Exhibited: It is likely that the offered lot was exhibited in May of 1925 at the Public Library Art Gallery, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It is also possible that the painting was exhibited the following January together with 65 other European works which were also exhibited at the Cedar Rapids, Iowa Public Library Art Gallery. The offered lot shares many similarities to a group of paintings produced by Wood during his year abroad between the fall of 1923 and the fall of 1924. In contrast to his French counterparts Wood placed his emphasis on form and structure instead of light and color, even though his basic style was impressionistic. Additionally Wood's European paintings, such as the offered lot, are void of the popular French subjects which most often depicted bustling boulevards, cafes and garden scenes, together with moving people. Compared to Wood's European paintings from his 1920 excursion, the offered lot relies heavily on the unpainted warm brown panel as a support for the thick stone wall that surrounds the arched windows and doorway. Although Wood increasingly incorporated people into his works at this time, the figure in the offered lot would hardly be missed if absent. The conflict of the date inscribed on this painting apparently exists on a number of similar paintings from this period suggesting that Wood probably did not sign this and other works until he returned to America. See Joseph S. Czestochowski, Marvin D. Cone and Grant Wood: An American Tradition, Cedar Rapids Iowa, 1989, page 189, catalogue entry #58.
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