1931 -
Galerie Paul Rosenberg (Paul Rosenberg), Paris, France [1]
by 1938 -
Rosenberg & Helft, London, England [2]
- 1948
Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York, NY, USA [3]
1948/01/07- 1983
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Paul Rosenberg & Co. [4]
1983 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Morton D. May [5]
Notes:
[1] Christian Zervos and Pierre Guéguen describe a small exhibition held at Galerie Paul Rosenberg in 1931, consisting of at least eight paintings by Picasso. Their comments are accompanied by images of three of the paintings, including the Saint Louis Art Museum's "Pitcher and Fruit Bowl" (labeled "Composition") [Zervos, Christian. "A Propos de la Dernière Exposition Picasso." "Cahiers d'Art" 6, no. 7-8 (1931): p. 325; Guéguen, Pierre. "Picasso et le Métapicassisme." "Cahiers d'Art" 6, no. 7-8 (1931): p.326-329]. During the 1930s, the painting was published as part of the holdings of Paul Rosenberg ["Picasso." Paris: Editions de Cahiers d'Art, 1932; Wadsworth Atheneum, " Pablo Picasso." Hartford, Connecticut: Wadsworth Atheneum, 1934, cat. no. 69].
[2] By 1938, the painting was co-owned by Paul Rosenberg and his brother-in-law Jacques Helft, under the auspices of the London gallery Rosenberg & Helft. It appears in a 1938 catalogue of the Rosenberg & Helft exhibit "Bonnard, Braque, Henri Matisse, Picasso, Rouault" [Rosenberg & Helft. "Bonnard, Braque, Henri Matisse, Picasso, Rouault." London: Rosenberg & Helft, 1938, cat. 11].
[3] Rosenberg Gallery information from Elaine Rosenberg, who maintains the Rosenberg records, indicates that the painting remained in the family's hands until it was acquired by Morton D. May, and the painting was in the possession of the New York gallery no earlier than 1940 when the gallery opened, and no later than 1948, when the painting was sold to Morton D. May. The Rosenberg Gallery records include an inventory record for this painting ("Pichet compotier de fruits sur une table," 1931) with a gallery number of 2991 [SLAM document files].
[4] According to a January 7, 1948 invoice and correspondence [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[5] 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.
