El Condor
Artist
José H. Faus
(American, born Columbia, 1956)
Date2021
MediumInk marker on paper
DimensionsOverall: 30 × 22 1/2 inches (76.2 × 57.15 cm)
Credit LineGift of Hugh J. Merrill, Emmett Merrill, and Rebecca Merrill
Object number2021.38.2
InscribedThere are no artist’s inscriptions on the artwork, however a paper vendor’s note in graphite pencil at upper right, verso reads: “875 300lb CP.”
MarkingsThe paper is embossed with “2 Aquarelle Arches” at lower left. These marks appear
over the “Arches France” watermark. A second watermark is present at upper right. Other factory marks on the paper include a flattened area at upper left, possibly from a drying loft clip.
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionThis vertically oriented black ink drawing on a white paper depicts a highly stylized condor which absent the title might not be recognizable as that large bird. The condor’s head is just above and to the left of center of the sheet. Its proper left eye is visible above its large, hooked beak. What reads as at least four wings extend from its body as if the drawing was meant to render the condor mid-flight. Two elements near the top of the lower right quadrant of the composition extend downward in a manner that suggests they may be the condor’s legs. Rather than feathers, the condor is covered in bold areas of solid black amorphous shapes combined with other sections that are rhythmically striped or filled with cross hatching. The paper is embossed with “2 Aquarelle Arches” at lower left. These marks appear over the “Arches France” watermark. A second watermark is present at upper right. There are no artist’s inscriptions on the artwork, however a paper vendor’s note in graphite pencil at upper right, verso reads: “875 300lb CP.”ProvenancePurchased from the artist, 2021;
His gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2021.
Copyright© José H. Faus
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