Fernand Léger

(French, 1881-1955)

Étude pour le Portrait de Madame Dale; with another study for the portrait verso (A Double-Sided Work), c. 1935

Graphite on paper

Signed with the artist's initial f. (lower left); also inscribed in pen N°. D 472-3 étude pour un portrait (along the left outer edge lower left)

Sheet size: 10 1/2 x 7 5/8 in. (26.7 x 19.4cm)

Private Collection, New York, New York.

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

This work has been authenticated by the Comité Léger and will be sold with a Certificate of Authenticity.

Provenance:

Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris.

Literature:

Dora Vallier, Carnet Inédit de Fernand Léger: Esquisses pour un Portrait, Éditions Cahiers d'Art, Paris 1952.

George Bauquier, Fernand Léger: Vivre dans le Vrai, A Maeght, Paris, 1987, pp. 241-246.

Lot Essay:

The present work is one of several studies Fernand Léger completed towards the completion of the bust-length portrait of Mrs. Maud Chester Dale, now in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

It stands as a rarity in the artist's decades-long career, as Léger was not known for completing pencil studies ahead of final works (he preferred to start coloring masses almost immediately), and the portrait itself was only one of four works ever commissioned by the artist. The present study therefore offers an invaluable insight into the artist's thought process, especially since the final work departs from the composition Léger first experimented with, here.

Shown in what appears to be a library judging from the bookshelves behind her, Madame D sits elegantly in a fauteuil. Her legs visibly crossed, a sign of ease, she is dressed in a dress embellished by a flowy shawl sensually draped over one of her shoulders. With its very thin and fluid pencil lines, the present drawing bestows a certain simplicity which contrasts with the verso of the drawing, in which Léger explores a more hieratic, steady pose. This proves that Léger did not leave the completion of the portrait to chance, and studied every possible option and pose. In the many studies that exist, Mrs. Dale is either standing up or sitting down, depicted in the dining room or in the library, either dressed in an-eye catching dress, or in a very plain one.

While the present work identifies the sitter as an important character (she was married to a very wealthy American businessman who owned a formidable collection of Old Masters), the final work remains more mysterious, without any reference to her well-to-do social status. In it, Mrs. Dale stands up against a red curtain which mirrors her blue shawl. Her dress is very simple, she wears no jewelry, and the decor is neutral. She is depicted as an imposing antique sculpture. Still, her soft face and inviting gesture act as a reminder of her dignity, generosity, and warmth - a trait already suggested in the present work.

Étude pour le Portrait de Madame Dale; with another study for the portrait verso (A Double-Sided Work), c. 1935

Étude pour le Portrait de Madame Dale; with another study for the portrait verso (A Double-Sided Work), c. 1935