1932

Guy Pène Du Bois (American, 1884-1958) - Teddy at the Typewriter

While an important figure in the annals of American Art, Guy Pène du Bois defies easy categorization; as an artist, he mixed a realistic approach with modern stylization, but as a critic, he was acutely aware of the numerous aesthetic movements at play in the 1930s. Executed two years after the artist returned to America from France, the present work embodies this duality.

In Teddy at the Typewriter, Pène du Bois presents us with an elegant, fair-haired young woman dressed in a blue floral dress typing pages at a table. Behind her, a stack of staggered books rests upon the mantel. Despite the cheerful, rose-toned palette, the scene is disconcerting, which is not surprising given Pène du Bois’s ("a clever satirist" according to Duncan Phillips) often sardonic portrayals of the New York Elite. While the present work could depict a strong, independent woman focused on her task at hand, the slightly skewed perspective, especially noticeable in the table that leans towards us, could also indicate the uneasy presence of a spectator. The male gaze, which physically and metaphorically looks down on the subject, may explain the woman's closed expression and frozen pose. Pène du Bois therefore places the viewer in the uncomfortable role of voyeur–a quiet and possibly unwelcome observer who disrupts the woman’s solitude and productivity.

Collection of Mr. Charles A. Whelan, New York.

C.W. Kraushaar Art Galleries, New York, New York.

Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, sale of November 7, 1946, lot 107.

Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, sale of December 11, 1974, lot 3.

Collection of Henning Hoj.

A gift from the above.

Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah (by 1977).

Richard York Gallery, New York, New York.

Caldwell Gallery, Manlius, New York (by 2004).

Private Collection, New York, New York.