Accession Number
1983/1.328.1

Title
Lease

Artist(s)
Pierre Alechinsky

Artist Nationality
Belgian (modern)

Object Creation Date
1971

Medium & Support
pen and ink on laid paper

Dimensions
11 5/8 in x 8 5/16 in (29.5 cm x 21.1 cm);11 5/8 in x 8 5/16 in (29.5 cm x 21.1 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of the Marvin Felheim Collection

Subject matter
This drawing by Pierre Alechinsky was likely done on an old legal document, a lease.  The artist was associated with the movement Cobra which rejected western traditions of aesthetics.  He often used old legal documents and receipts as the support for his drawings, as he found the recycling of these things a way to connect with everyday moments of the past.  The bird figure represented in this drawing is a subject that Alechinsky explored frequently in his works.

Physical Description
This is a double-sided document written in French with a drawing over one side. The line drawing shows a bird coming in from the right side of the image and a border around the text. The other side includes a stamp, in ink, in the upper left corner, of a seated woman with the word 'timbre' and the price in Francs. An encircled '3' and the word 'BIS'  appear at the top of the page.

Primary Object Classification
Drawing

Primary Object Type
line drawing

Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary

Rights
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Keywords
Birds
Text-based Art
birds (motifs)
legal documents
modern and contemporary art
text (layout feature)