Landscape with Pollard Willows (verso: Figure in a Landscape)
- Date
- c.1880
- made in
- Etten, Noord-Brabant province, Netherlands, Europe
- Classification
- Drawings & watercolors
- Collection
- Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- framed: 15 1/4 x 20 1/4 x 1 1/2 in. (38.7 x 51.4 x 3.8 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 6:1954
NOTES
Vincent van Gogh drew on both sides of this sheet of paper. Each shows a figure walking through a landscape. The larger figure inhabits the immediate outskirts of an industrial town, while the smaller one is fully immersed in the fields. These two adjacent drawings show the young artist teaching himself to draw, and both point to significant aspects of van Gogh’s outlook on life.
Smokestacks on the back side of the sheet identify the location as the Borinage coal mining region in Belgium, where van Gogh lived between 1878 and 1880. He went there hoping to realize his dream to be a Protestant preacher and to serve an underappreciated public. He was, however, already on the path to becoming an artist. His progression can be seen in the delicate pen-and-ink hatchmarks in what was likely a later exercise in representing the fundamental relationship between humans and nature.
Smokestacks on the back side of the sheet identify the location as the Borinage coal mining region in Belgium, where van Gogh lived between 1878 and 1880. He went there hoping to realize his dream to be a Protestant preacher and to serve an underappreciated public. He was, however, already on the path to becoming an artist. His progression can be seen in the delicate pen-and-ink hatchmarks in what was likely a later exercise in representing the fundamental relationship between humans and nature.
Provenance
Eric Schall, Baden-Baden, Germany [1]
1912 - still in 1928
Heinrich Stinnes (1867-1932), Cologne, Germany [2]
1952/05/28 - 1952
M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY, USA, purchased at the sale [“Gemälde, Plastik, Graphik, Handzeichnungen, Aquarelle, Kunstliteratur.” Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett, Stuttgart, May 28, 1952, lot no. 1264, ill.]. [3]
1952 - 1954
Fine Arts Associates (Otto Gerson), New York, NY, USA, purchased from M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY, USA [4]
1954 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Fine Arts Associates, New York, NY, USA [5]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is de la Faille's catalogue raisonné, the 1970 revised edition, cat. no. F874 [Faille, J.-B. de la. "The Works of Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and Drawings." Amsterdam: Meulenhoff International, 1970, cat. no. F874]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] According to the catalogue raisonné, Schall was the owner prior to Heinrich Stinnes [Faille, cat. no. F874]. It is unknown how Schall acquired the drawing.
[2] According to the catalogue raisonné, Heinrich Stinnes acquired the drawing in 1912 [Faille, cat. no. F874]. It is unknown how Stinnes acquired the drawing. It was still in Stinnes collection in 1928, when the first edition of the de la Faille catalogue raisonné was published [Faille, J.-B. de la. “L’oeuvre de Vincent van Gogh: Catalogue Raisonné.” Vol. 3. Paris and Brussels: Les Éditions G. van Oest, 1928, cat. no. F874].
[3] See the auction catalog [“Gemälde, Plastik, Graphik, Handzeichnungen, Aquarelle, Kunstliteratur.” Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett, Stuttgart, May 28, 1952, lot no. 1264, ill.]. It is unknown how the drawing came to appear in this auction.
[4] An inventory card from the Otto Gerson Papers at the Archives of American Art indicates that Fine Arts Associates purchased the drawing from M. Knoedler & Co. in June 1952. This card also notes that Fine Arts Associates sold the drawing to the City Art Museum, St. Louis in December 1953 [photocopy in SLAM document files].
[5] Bill of Sale dated December 6, 1953 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, February 4, 1954.
1912 - still in 1928
Heinrich Stinnes (1867-1932), Cologne, Germany [2]
1952/05/28 - 1952
M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY, USA, purchased at the sale [“Gemälde, Plastik, Graphik, Handzeichnungen, Aquarelle, Kunstliteratur.” Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett, Stuttgart, May 28, 1952, lot no. 1264, ill.]. [3]
1952 - 1954
Fine Arts Associates (Otto Gerson), New York, NY, USA, purchased from M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY, USA [4]
1954 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Fine Arts Associates, New York, NY, USA [5]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is de la Faille's catalogue raisonné, the 1970 revised edition, cat. no. F874 [Faille, J.-B. de la. "The Works of Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and Drawings." Amsterdam: Meulenhoff International, 1970, cat. no. F874]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] According to the catalogue raisonné, Schall was the owner prior to Heinrich Stinnes [Faille, cat. no. F874]. It is unknown how Schall acquired the drawing.
[2] According to the catalogue raisonné, Heinrich Stinnes acquired the drawing in 1912 [Faille, cat. no. F874]. It is unknown how Stinnes acquired the drawing. It was still in Stinnes collection in 1928, when the first edition of the de la Faille catalogue raisonné was published [Faille, J.-B. de la. “L’oeuvre de Vincent van Gogh: Catalogue Raisonné.” Vol. 3. Paris and Brussels: Les Éditions G. van Oest, 1928, cat. no. F874].
[3] See the auction catalog [“Gemälde, Plastik, Graphik, Handzeichnungen, Aquarelle, Kunstliteratur.” Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett, Stuttgart, May 28, 1952, lot no. 1264, ill.]. It is unknown how the drawing came to appear in this auction.
[4] An inventory card from the Otto Gerson Papers at the Archives of American Art indicates that Fine Arts Associates purchased the drawing from M. Knoedler & Co. in June 1952. This card also notes that Fine Arts Associates sold the drawing to the City Art Museum, St. Louis in December 1953 [photocopy in SLAM document files].
[5] Bill of Sale dated December 6, 1953 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, February 4, 1954.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.