Impressionist and Modern Art

We wish to thank Ms. Aurélia Engel for confirming the authenticity of the present Lot, which is recorded in the Françoise Gilot Archives under number 60843.

Provenance:

Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris, France.

Acquired directly from the above in Spring, 1951.

Collection of Norman and Helen Daly, New York.

By descent in the family to the present owner.

Lot Note:

Following her meeting with Pablo Picasso in 1943 at the age of 21, Françoise Gilot would go on to have two children: Claude in 1947 and Paloma in 1949. The present drawing and the following Lot depict her daughter in her earliest years. Each is set within the domestic sphere of Vallauris that occupied much of Gilot’s life at this time.

Executed circa 1950, these works mark a decisive moment in the artist’s development. Although still shaped by her proximity to Picasso, they already assert a personal language grounded in observation and defined by a strong sense of line and draughtsmanship.

In both compositions, form is articulated through contour rather than modeling, proving Gilot's early disposition in draughtsmanship. Paloma’s body, whether seated or reclining, is constructed through a continuous, controlled line. In Paloma Endormie (Lot 67), the reclining body of Paloma is notable for its economy: it unfolds across the surface of the paper with a sense of quiet monumentality, reduced to essential curves. Even in the present, more developed sheet, where subtle tonal inflections appear, line remains dominant and allows the figure to exist in a state of suspended clarity. This linear precision is what distinguishes Gilot from Picasso: where he fractures and reconfigures, she delineates. 

Gilot’s attentiveness to the child as a subject in formation is also particularly striking. These are not symbolic or mythologized images of childhood, but intimate and immediate records. The disproportion of the figure, the large head, compact body, and tentative gesture of the hand holding a small flower all suggest close and sustained observation. The inclusion of a drawing within the composition of Paloma Endormie (Lot 67) introduces a reflexive element, suggesting Paloma's early creativity i.e. the witnessing of an act of making within the image itself.

Unframed.
The paper is toned and there is skinning to the paper throughout, particularly to the left side. There are soft handling creases, for instance at the top left and bottom left. There are a few pinpoint spots of foxing, for instance at top left and bottom center. On verso there is residue from several pieces of tape and the paper is toned. Additional images available upon request.

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