The Slave
- Date
- 1921
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 43 3/8 x 31 1/2 in. (110.2 x 80 cm)
framed: 53 in. x 41 in. x 1 7/8 in. (134.6 x 104.1 x 4.8 cm) - Credit Line
- Bequest of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 909:1983
NOTES
A voluminous nude is rendered here in intense color patches of red, mauve, and yellow, suggestive of stained glass. Behind her in the upper left of the composition is the artist, Oskar Kokoschka, in the act of painting. The features of the female model are those of Kokoschka’s partner, Anna Kallin; she holds a rope in order to maintain her pose. The title of the work suggests that the artist imagined his model as part of a harem.
Provenance
1922/01/06 -
Paul Cassirer (1871-1926), Berlin, Germany; Amsterdam, The Netherlands, purchased from the artist [1]
1923 -
Richard Lányi, Vienna, Austria [2]
1935/10/23 -
Galerie Paul Cassirer, Berlin, Germany; Amsterdam, The Netherlands [3]
Josef von Sternberg (1894-1969), Los Angeles, CA, USA [4]
- 1952
Stendhal Galleries (Alfred E. Stendhal), Los Angeles, CA, from Josef von Sternberg
1952/12/02 - 1983
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Alfred E. Stendhal [5]
1983 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Morton D. May [6]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is Erling's and Feilchenfeld's online catalogue raisonné, cat. no. 1921/10 [Katharina Erling and Walter Feilchenfeldt: Oskar Kokoschka. Die Gemälde Online (https://www.oskar-kokoschka.ch/de/1020/Online-Werkkatalog), edited by the Fondation Oskar Kokoschka, Vevey]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] Cassirer acquired the painting from Kokoschka on January 6, 1922.
[2] According to records in the Paul Cassirer Archives, Richard Lányi lent the painting to an exhibition at the Galerie Paul Cassirer in 1923 ["Oskar Kokoschka". Galerie Paul Cassirer, Berlin. May-July 1923]. Lányi was the owner of a bookshop in the Kärntnerstraße, and an active promoter of contemporary Viennese artists.
[3] The painting was returned to Cassirer on October 23, 1935 [Paul Cassirer Archives, per Johann Winkler]. It is possible that Lányi retained the picture until then. Although Paul Cassirer died in 1926, his gallery continued to operate.
[4] Josef von Sternberg was born in Vienna, but spent much of his youth in New York. In 1923 Sternberg moved to Hollywood, and started his career as film director. He frequently returned to Austria. Sternberg may have acquired this painting in Vienna and brought it with him to the United States. He is known to have had an art collection, which included Modern paintings.
[5] Morton D. May purchased the painting on December 2, 1952 from Alfred E. Stendhal [correspondence and bill of sale, May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. Stendhal indicated in this bill that the painting came from the collection of Josef von Sternberg.
[6] Last Will and Testament of M. D. May dated June 11, 1982 [copy, May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. Minutes of the Acquisitions and Loans Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, September 20, 1983.
Paul Cassirer (1871-1926), Berlin, Germany; Amsterdam, The Netherlands, purchased from the artist [1]
1923 -
Richard Lányi, Vienna, Austria [2]
1935/10/23 -
Galerie Paul Cassirer, Berlin, Germany; Amsterdam, The Netherlands [3]
Josef von Sternberg (1894-1969), Los Angeles, CA, USA [4]
- 1952
Stendhal Galleries (Alfred E. Stendhal), Los Angeles, CA, from Josef von Sternberg
1952/12/02 - 1983
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Alfred E. Stendhal [5]
1983 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Morton D. May [6]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is Erling's and Feilchenfeld's online catalogue raisonné, cat. no. 1921/10 [Katharina Erling and Walter Feilchenfeldt: Oskar Kokoschka. Die Gemälde Online (https://www.oskar-kokoschka.ch/de/1020/Online-Werkkatalog), edited by the Fondation Oskar Kokoschka, Vevey]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] Cassirer acquired the painting from Kokoschka on January 6, 1922.
[2] According to records in the Paul Cassirer Archives, Richard Lányi lent the painting to an exhibition at the Galerie Paul Cassirer in 1923 ["Oskar Kokoschka". Galerie Paul Cassirer, Berlin. May-July 1923]. Lányi was the owner of a bookshop in the Kärntnerstraße, and an active promoter of contemporary Viennese artists.
[3] The painting was returned to Cassirer on October 23, 1935 [Paul Cassirer Archives, per Johann Winkler]. It is possible that Lányi retained the picture until then. Although Paul Cassirer died in 1926, his gallery continued to operate.
[4] Josef von Sternberg was born in Vienna, but spent much of his youth in New York. In 1923 Sternberg moved to Hollywood, and started his career as film director. He frequently returned to Austria. Sternberg may have acquired this painting in Vienna and brought it with him to the United States. He is known to have had an art collection, which included Modern paintings.
[5] Morton D. May purchased the painting on December 2, 1952 from Alfred E. Stendhal [correspondence and bill of sale, May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. Stendhal indicated in this bill that the painting came from the collection of Josef von Sternberg.
[6] Last Will and Testament of M. D. May dated June 11, 1982 [copy, May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. Minutes of the Acquisitions and Loans Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, September 20, 1983.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.