May 07, 2015 - Sale 2382

Sale 2382 - Lot 127

Price Realized: $ 12,500
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 12,000 - $ 18,000
ADOLPHE MOURON CASSANDRE (1901-1968) NEW STATENDAM / HOLLAND - AMERICA LINE. 1928.
40 1/4x30 1/2 inches, 102x77 1/2 cm. Nijgh & Van Dittmar, Rotterdam.
Condition A- / B+: minor creases in margins and image; expert extensive airbrushing in margins.
Launched in 1924, construction problems delayed the maiden voyage of the Statendam until April 11, 1929. Known as "the Queen of the Spotless Fleet," she served the Holland-America Line until 1940, when she was destroyed during World War II. To promote her first crossing, Cassandre developed this compelling close-up view of funnels and ventilation cowls, with waves of smoke billowing out overhead. Cassandre's love of sea travel found him "constantly renewing himself, constantly varying not only his point of view and angle but also his style" (Mouron p. 64). This poster not only represents another unique vantage point from which to view technology, but is "a prime example of Cassandre's attention to tonal values. The color scheme . . . brings a wonderfully sober equilibrium to the composition" (ibid. p.66). Mouron 104, Brown & Reinhold pl. 12, Cassandre / Weill p. 22, Cassandre / Suntory 69, Cassandre / Tokyo 28, Schipp & Affiche 53, Passenger Ships 73, Crouse p. 227.