Item #2199 [Untitled Drawing]. Leonora Carrington.
[Untitled Drawing]

[Untitled Drawing]

n.p. n.d., c. 1932-33. Watercolor on paper. 12 x 15.5 cm. Matted and framed.

An early drawing, very reminiscent of Carrington’s series "Sisters of the Moon" (1932-33), which scholar Susan Aberth notes "must be understood as a pivotal turning point in the development of Carrington's unique artistic vision that even at this early date entailed a mixing of cultural symbols and artistic styles. It was the first step taken in what would be a lifetime spent envisioning a world of feminine power, located specifically in the mythic and the occult." The drawing is a manifestation of a young woman's combination of fashion drawings, fairy princesses and magical women, influenced by the sumptuous world of Victorian storybooks, and was likely completed either at home in England or one of Carrington's boarding schools abroad. Although it must be considered a work of juvenilia, the delicacy of the linework and color handling are lovely and accomplished. (It should be noted that our photographs of the drawing are taken within its frame and thus the colors are not reproduced as finely as they actually are.)

Carrington brought a cache of these fairy tale images and other early work when she moved to Saint-Martin d'Ardèche in the south of France with Max Ernst in 1938. Their idyll there was soon shattered by the coming war, with Ernst interned as an enemy alien and their lives torn asunder. A neighbor and friend, Maurice Lods, was entrusted with artworks and other belongings for safekeeping as both eventually fled, never to return to their blissful and productive retreat.

Provenance:
Maurice Lods, with a certificate stating that it was acquired directly from the artist.
Galerie 1900-2000, Paris.
Heart Fine Art, Edinburgh.
Acquired from the above by the present owner.

Reference:
Aberth, Susan. "'An Allergy to Collaboration': the Early Formation of Leonora Carrington’s Artistic Vision." Leonora Carrington and the International Avant-Garde, edited by Jonathan P. Eburne and Catriona McAra, Manchester University Press, 2017, pp. 20-38.

We are grateful to Dr. Susan Aberth for her assistance with cataloging this item. Item #2199

Price: $22,500.00