Pink Cow

c.1940 - c.1946
Justin K. Thannhauser (d.1976), New York, NY, USA [1]

by 1949 - 1951
James Vigeveno Galleries, Los Angeles, CA [2]

1951 - 1992
Samuel J. Levin and Audrey L. Levin (d.1991), St. Louis, MO, purchased from James Vigeveno Galleries [3]

1992 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Audrey L. Levin [4]


Notes:
[1] Justin K. Thannhauser was an art dealer and avid collector who left Europe shortly after the German occupation of France in 1940. He moved to New York and intended to rebuild his business; however, he never opened a public gallery in the U.S. The address for his first home in New York, where he and his family lived until 1946, appears on a label on the verso of "Pink Cow." Based on this address, Thannhauser must have possessed the painting at some time between 1940 and 1946 ["A Showcase for Modern Art: The Thannhauser Collection." in "Thannhauser: The Thannhauser Collection of the Guggenheim Museum," edited by Matthew Drent, 1-25. New York: Guggenheim Museum, 2001]. According to the executor of Mrs. Justin K. Thannhauser's estate, which holds the Thannhauser records, the records do not mention Thannhauser's handling of this painting [emails from Janet Briner, Silva Casa Foundation, dated June 10, 2004 and January 11, 2005, SLAM document files].

[2] A label from James Vigeveno Galleries appears on the verso of "Pink Cow." According to an exhibition brochure from 1949, the painting was in an exhibit at James Vigeveno Galleries that year ["Small Paintings by Great Masters." Los Angeles: James Vigeveno Galleries, 1949, no. 38]. A Vigeveno Galleries stockcard indicates that the painting was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Samuel J. Levin in September of 1951 [record card, James Vigeveno Galleries records, 1940-1975, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; photocopy, SLAM document files].

[3] See note [2]. According to correspondence between the Museum and the Trustees of the Audrey L. Levin Revocable Trust, after Audrey L. Levin died, the painting remained part of her estate under the care of the Trustees, until the Museum accessioned the work in 1992 [letter dated January 29, 1992, SLAM document files].

[4] Letter from the Trustees of the Audrey L. Levin Revocable Trust, Adeline Robinson and Charlotte Cohen, with attached copy of section five of the Trust, January 29, 1992 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 18, 1992.