Attributes: Signed on the lower right, Henri Matisse. Number 14/125 (artist proof) - Media: Linocut - Condition: Good condition - Provenance: Private collection, South America - Dimensions (cm): 19.5 by 23.5 - Dimensions (inches): 9 1/4 by 7 3/4 - Biography: Painter Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954) is one of the most prominent 20th century artists, best known as a founding member of the Fauvist movement, and for his modernist innovations in painting, sculpture, and his original cut-out papiers decoupes. Matisse was born in Le Cateau-Cambresis, France, and attended law school in Paris before studying art at the Académie Julian and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. While first painting in a naturalistic style, he created increasingly experimental works after studying the art of the Impressionists, becoming familiar with Pointillism and other post-Impressionist idioms that dominated artistic discourse at the turn of the century. Attuned to African and “primitive†art, Matisse began painting using bold colors in broad, flat applications of paint with bold outlines, which developed into his mature Fauvist style in the mid-1900s. He exhibited his work at the Salon des Independants and the provocative 1913 Armory Show in New York, and his work was sought after early on by collectors including the famed Gertrude Stein. Between 1914 and 1918 his work became increasingly angular and abstracted, at times displaying abrupt changes from naturalism to abstraction in a single work, executed using muted colors; this change in style was believed to be reflective of his reaction to WWI. From the 1920s on, Matisse divided his time between Paris and southern France, painting works with loose, fluid forms, vibrant patterns, and bright colors, working in set design and sculpture in addition to painting. After two operations in the 1940s, Matisse began to focus on cut paper techniques in collages he called papiers decoupes, a method used in his Jazz series, as well as in designs for several chapels. Held in high critical regard during his lifetime, a retrospective of Matisse’s work opened in 1951 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, traveling all over the United States. In 1952, the Musee Matisse opened in Matisse’s French hometown of Le Cateau-Cambresis, two years before the artist’s death in 1954.

All lots that do not carry established documented provenance nor any past record of auction history record are described in the catalog as attributed. All authorship of items in this catalog are described according to the following terms: Signed [Artist Name] : In cases in which the signature is legible in the lot, this work is described as-is with no attributions given. By [Artist Name] : The work is by the artist. Attributed to [Artist Name] : The work may be ascribed to the artist on the basis of style, but there may be some question as to actual authorship. In the manner of [Artist Name] : The work was executed by an unknown hand, but was designed deliberately to emulate the style of the artist. After [Artist Name] : The work was executed by an unknown hand, but is a deliberate copy of a known work by the artist. Circle of [Artist Name] : A work of the period of the artist showing his influence, closely associated with the artist but not necessarily his pupil. Follower of [Artist Name]: A work by a pupil or a follower of the artist (not necessarily a pupil). American, 19th century : This work was executed by an unknown hand, and can only be identified by origin (i.e., region, period).