Wifredo Lam

Wifredo Lam 1902 - 1982 Jeune fille sur fond vert. 1939. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated in the lower left. 99 x 72 cm (38.9 x 28.3 in). • REDUCED FORM A striking example of Wifredo Lam’s geometrically influenced, contemplative female portraits. • THE MASK The face as an expression of Lam’s synthesis of Afro-Caribbean roots and the European avant-garde. • PICASSO Created in Paris in 1939, during Lam's close artistic relationship with Picasso, who recognised and nurtured his talent early on. • MUSE The subject is believed to be Helena Holzer, whom the artist met in 1938 and married in 1944. • TOPICALITY The retrospective “When I Don’t Sleep, I Dream” at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (November 2025–April 2026), underscores Lam’s enduring international significance. Accompanied by a photo certificate from Eskil Lam, Paris, dated September 8, 2021. The work is registered in the Wifredo Lam Archive, Paris, under the number “39.62.” We are grateful to Mr. Eskil Lam for his kind assistance. PROVENANCE: Collection of Dr. Herbert Gross, Zurich. Private collection, Switzerland (since 1968, acquired from the above) From a Swiss corporate collection (acquired from the above). "I knew I was running the risk of not being understood by either the man in the street or by the others. But a true picture has the power to set the imagination to work even if it takes time." Wifredo Lam, quoted from: Max-Pol Fouchet, Wifredo Lam, Barcelona 1976, pp. 188f. Called up: December 4, 2026 - ca. 18.00 h +/- 20 min.

Estimate:$278,714.75

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