Matthew Thomas
Senior Specialist
Lot 175
Huguette Caland (Lebanon, b. 1931) Abstract
8 October 2013, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £11,250 inc. premium
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Huguette Caland (Lebanon, b. 1931)
Abstract
Abstract
oil on canvas, framed
99 x 78.5 cm.
99 x 78.5 cm.
Footnotes
Provenance: Collection of Professor John Carswell.
Huguette Caland, born in Beirut in 1931, was the daughter of the first president of Lebanon, Bechara el-Khoury is a uniquely gifted modern Lebanese artist. She has lived an isolated, introspective life; being self-conscious due to weight issues in her youth, she endured periods of intense self-examination and insecurity. Caland's mother died in 1960 when she was 29 years of age, forcing her to care for her dying father over a period of four years. She has said that she still has vivid memories of being near to someone who was dying so slowly, contributing deep physical emotions to her pieces.
In the 1960s, at the time when this piece was painted, Caland went through a period where she was exploring the perception of her own body, the human anatomy and the physical interactions. Between the years of 1964 to 1968, during her time in the Art Department at the American University of Beirut, she was taught how to draw by John Carswell, who was later given this piece as a gift. This abstract painting has similarities to other pieces from Caland's first period, when she lived in Kalisk, such as 'Maameltein' (Huguette Caland Works 1964-2012, Exhibition Catalogue, Beirut Exhibition Centre Solidere, January 14-February 28, 2012, Beirut, 2013, p. 48) and 'Tete-a-tete' (ibid., p. 52).