Property from the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust

MARIE-LOUISE VON MOTESICZKY (AUSTRIAN 1906-1996)
Two nude women and tent
oil on canvas, unframed
53.4 x 71 cm (21 x 27 7/8 in)

LITERATURE:
I. Schlenker, Marie-Louise von Motesiczky 1906-1996, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, New York, 2009, p. 395, no. 232, illustrated

Painted in the 1960s, the present work is one of a number of 'double-portraits' by Motesiczky that focused on the relationship between two women, often portrayed in a distinctly humorous manner. Other comparable works are Girlfriends, 1955 (Schlenker no. 138); Two Women Drinking Wine, 1960s (Schlenker no, 234, sold Chiswick Auctions 30 March 2021, lot 331) and Nudes at Hampstead Pond, 1988 (Schlenker no. 291, Collection of Burgh House, Hampstead). In the earlier paintings the ladies are clothed and chatting indoors, while in the present work they have shed their garments and converse outdoors, apparently by the sea where they they have set up camp. Their modesty is protected by reeds on the left, and - rather comically - by the flaps of their tent on the right.