KURT SELIGMANN (Basel 1900-1961 New York City) Nocturne. 1950. Oil on canvas. Signed lower right: Seligmann. 71.5 × 94.6 cm. Provenance: - With Galerie Jacques Benador, Geneva, 1990 (label verso). - With The Mayor Gallery, London (label verso). - Private collection, Switzerland, acquired on 21.6.1994 from the above gallery at Art Basel, thence by descent. "My entire childhood was impregnated by the ancient ideal of the Soldier of Fortune which since the 15th century has left an indelible mark on Basel. The heraldic ensigns, the armour, the halyards, the drapery, the ribbons, all this anachronistic attire was very much alive for me. It seems to me that I always hear, in the depth of my ears, the deafening sound of the enormous drums that are reserved for Carnival Day. Basel, you see, is still and always Holbein, Erasmus, Frobeinus, Melanchton. It is in the culture of my native city to which my subconscious always travels whenever I begin one of my compositions, whether abstract or imaginative" (Henri Héraut, 'Artistes d'aujourd'hui: Kurt Seligmann, peintre d'avant-garde' in Sud, no. 126, Marseille, 15 April1935). ------------------------------------------------- KURT SELIGMANN (Basel 1900-1961 New York) Nocturne. 1950. Oil on canvas. Signed lower right: Seligmann. 71.5 × 94.6 cm. Provenance: - Galerie Jacques Benador, Geneva, 1990 (labelled on verso). - The Mayor Gallery, London (label verso). - Private collection, Switzerland, acquired on 21 June 1994 at the above gallery during Art Basel and passed to the present owners by inheritance. "My entire childhood was imbued with the old ideal of the knight of fortune, which has left an indelible impression on Basel since the 15th century. The heraldic signs, the armour, the flags, the draperies, the ribbons - all these anachronistic accessories were very much alive for me. It seems to me that deep down I always hear the deafening sounds of the huge drums reserved for Fasnacht Day. Basel, you see, is still and always will be Holbein, Erasmus, Frobenius, Melanchthon. It is the culture of my native city, to which my subconscious always returns whenever I begin one of my compositions, be it abstract or imaginative." (Translated from the French, Henri Héraut: "Artistes d'aujourd'hui: Kurt Seligmann, peintre d'avant-garde", in Sud, no. 126, Marseille, 15 April 1935).