Description of the artwork

Born in France near Bordeaux in 1931, Laura Pels settled in New York in the mid-1960s after living in Ethiopia. Her extensive cultural knowledge and curiosity drew her into the art world. Alongside her support for independent theatre through her philanthropic foundation, Laura Pels socialised with numerous artists, whose works she collected.
Françoise Gilot, who had been living in the United States since 1955, became one of her close friends. Laura Pels’s collection included no fewer than 16 works by Gilot, including this remarkable painting acquired directly from the artist.
Driven by her creativity and the confidence she possessed in the late 1970s, Françoise Gilot gave form to her vision, which seemed to fill the horizon, as in this monumental and symbolic seascape of Mission Bay, not far from her Californian home in La Jolla.

Origin

Former Laura Pels Collection

Literature

Aurélia Engel has confirmed the authenticity of this work, which can be found in Françoise Gilot's archives under number 958
Françoise Gilot, Monograph 1940–2000, Acatos Publishers, reproduced in colour on p. 61