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Two works by Sol LeWitt at auction
Solomon LeWitt, known as Sol LeWitt, studied Fine Arts at Syracuse University (New York State) before traveling through Europe, where he discovered the great classical masters, particularly the fresco painters of the Italian Renaissance. Upon returning to the U.S. after serving in the Korean War, he worked as a graphic designer for the architectural firm of I. M. Pei (1917–2019), renowned in France for designing the Louvre Pyramid (1989). In the early 1960s, LeWitt worked as a night receptionist at New York’s MoMA. It was there that he met other young artists like Dan Flavin (1933–1996), with whom he shared a common desire to rethink the very nature of artistic practice. At the time, LeWitt focused primarily on sculpture and began gaining recognition. He referred to his sculptures as “structures,” highlighting their methodical, almost mathematical nature, often using the cube as the foundational form for his series. His first retrospective exhibition was held in 1970 at the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, Netherlands.
A versatile artist bridging sculpture and wall painting
LeWitt was a multifaceted artist who also created wall paintings. In 1968, he completed his first Wall Drawing for the Paula Cooper Gallery in New York. Over the course of his career, he would go on to design around 1,200 wall drawings worldwide—some permanent, others temporary. These pieces were conceived by the artist but often executed by assistants or other artists, who followed his instructions much like a blueprint—reinforcing LeWitt’s core idea that the concept of a work could outweigh its physical execution, as expressed in his foundational 1967 text Paragraphs on Conceptual Art.
An example of one of his wall paintings can be seen near our auction house at the Château de Villeneuve in Vence, home to the Fondation Emile Hugues. In 2002, as part of an exhibition titled Sol LeWitt: The Image of Thought, the artist provided plans for a wall drawing installation, perfectly illustrating his belief in the primacy of the concept over execution.
A Signature Gouache – Lot 83
While LeWitt is primarily known for his cube-based sculptures and wall drawings, his works on paper should not be overlooked. Beginning in the 1980s, he produced a series of gouaches exploring geometric and colorful perspectives in infinite variation.
Lot 83 in our May 11 auction exemplifies how LeWitt extended his graphic vocabulary onto smaller, more intimate formats suited for private collectors. The composition features a cube-like form offset to the right, with three visible faces painted in purple, green, and red, set against a stark black background. Created in 1988, the work originates from the Lisson Gallery in London and was exhibited at Art Basel the same year. Founded in 1967 by Nicholas Logsdail, the Lisson Gallery was instrumental in promoting Minimal and Conceptual artists, and began exhibiting LeWitt’s work in 1971.
Lot 82 in our sale is a rare example from one of LeWitt’s lesser-known series: Folds and Rips. This limited body of work on paper was created early in his career, between 1966 and 1980. With these works, LeWitt radically reimagined the act of drawing. Instead of lines and pigment, the gesture itself—folding or tearing the paper—became the artwork.
In 1969, he began creating Folds, followed by Rips in 1971. In a 2020 essay on the series, art historian Dieter Schwarz describes it as "drawing without drawing." The piece offered here is one such Rip: a white sheet torn into three parts and then mounted together. As was his custom for the series, LeWitt titled and dated the work: R39 – March 1972. These pieces were often gifted to friends and gallerists, circulating in a private and exclusive circle. Our example comes from the collection of Yvon Lambert, a pioneering French gallerist who introduced LeWitt’s work to France with an exhibition in 1970. Lambert would later establish the Lambert Collection in Avignon in 2000, followed by a major donation to the French state in 2012, which included several of LeWitt’s works—both gouaches and wall drawings.
A versatile artist bridging sculpture and wall painting
LeWitt was a multifaceted artist who also created wall paintings. In 1968, he completed his first Wall Drawing for the Paula Cooper Gallery in New York. Over the course of his career, he would go on to design around 1,200 wall drawings worldwide—some permanent, others temporary. These pieces were conceived by the artist but often executed by assistants or other artists, who followed his instructions much like a blueprint—reinforcing LeWitt’s core idea that the concept of a work could outweigh its physical execution, as expressed in his foundational 1967 text Paragraphs on Conceptual Art.
An example of one of his wall paintings can be seen near our auction house at the Château de Villeneuve in Vence, home to the Fondation Emile Hugues. In 2002, as part of an exhibition titled Sol LeWitt: The Image of Thought, the artist provided plans for a wall drawing installation, perfectly illustrating his belief in the primacy of the concept over execution.
A Signature Gouache – Lot 83
While LeWitt is primarily known for his cube-based sculptures and wall drawings, his works on paper should not be overlooked. Beginning in the 1980s, he produced a series of gouaches exploring geometric and colorful perspectives in infinite variation.
Lot 83 in our May 11 auction exemplifies how LeWitt extended his graphic vocabulary onto smaller, more intimate formats suited for private collectors. The composition features a cube-like form offset to the right, with three visible faces painted in purple, green, and red, set against a stark black background. Created in 1988, the work originates from the Lisson Gallery in London and was exhibited at Art Basel the same year. Founded in 1967 by Nicholas Logsdail, the Lisson Gallery was instrumental in promoting Minimal and Conceptual artists, and began exhibiting LeWitt’s work in 1971.
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In 1969, he began creating Folds, followed by Rips in 1971. In a 2020 essay on the series, art historian Dieter Schwarz describes it as "drawing without drawing." The piece offered here is one such Rip: a white sheet torn into three parts and then mounted together. As was his custom for the series, LeWitt titled and dated the work: R39 – March 1972. These pieces were often gifted to friends and gallerists, circulating in a private and exclusive circle. Our example comes from the collection of Yvon Lambert, a pioneering French gallerist who introduced LeWitt’s work to France with an exhibition in 1970. Lambert would later establish the Lambert Collection in Avignon in 2000, followed by a major donation to the French state in 2012, which included several of LeWitt’s works—both gouaches and wall drawings.
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