Tamara de Lempicka, Polish 1898-1980- Composition Abstraite, 1923; graphite and wax crayon on paper, signed with stamp lower right, 23.6x14.4cm (ARR) Provenance: Barry Friedman Ltd, New York; Robert Sandelson, London; Private Collection, London;...

Tamara de Lempicka, Polish 1898-1980- Composition Abstraite, 1923; graphite and wax crayon on paper, signed with stamp lower right, 23.6x14.4cm (ARR) Provenance: Barry Friedman Ltd, New York; Robert Sandelson, London; Private Collection, London; thence by descent Literature: Alain Blondel, 'Tamara de Lempicka, Catalogue Raisonné 1921-1979', Lausanne, 1999, no.A.16 p.432. Note:This work is by the Polish artist Tamara de Lempicka, a central figure in the Art Deco movement which developed in the early twentieth century. One of her most famous paintings is her self-portrait in a green Bugatti, which remains one of the defining images of the 1920s. Lempicka lived and worked in Paris in the 1920s, and was therefore connected with the many artistic developments which were taking place in the city. Works such as this piece, in particular, illustrate the strong influence of the Cubism on Lempicka’s style, through its depiction of abstract forms with clean lines and sharp angles.