The Mother
- Date
- 1901
- Material
- Oil on cardboard mounted on panel
- made in
- Paris, Île-de-France region, France, Europe
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 29 1/2 × 20 1/2 in. (74.9 × 52.1 cm)
framed: 38 × 29 × 2 1/8 in. (96.5 × 73.7 × 5.4 cm) - Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 10:1939
NOTES
This work, painted by Pablo Picasso when he was just 20 years old, features a mother who grasps her toddler by the hand and holds her infant high against her shoulder. The woman stands resolute on the outskirts of a town or city, looking upon her surroundings with a determined gaze. The blue-gray tone of her skin is a precursor to Picasso’s Blue Period, during which time he depicted several downtrodden members of urban society in a palette of cool colors.
Provenance
- 1914
La Peau de l'Ours Collection, Paris, France [1]
1914/03/02 -
Galerie Eugène Druet, Paris, France, purchased from the sale of the La Peau de l'Ours Collection at Hôtel Drouet, Paris, France, March 2, 1903, lot no. 64 [2]
c.1914 -
Pieter van de Velde (1848-1922), Le Havre, France [3]
1927 - still in 1936
Chester Dale (1883-1962), New York, NY, USA [4]
- 1939
Valentine Gallery (Valentine Dudensing), New York, NY
1939/01/06 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Valentine Gallery [5]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is the catalogue raisonné of Picasso's paintings from 1900-1906, cat. no.V.9 [Daix, Pierre and Georges Boudaille. "Picasso, The Blue and Rose Periods: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings 1990 1906." Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society Ltd., 1967]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] La Peau de l'Ours was an art collection club founded by André Level [Gee, Malcom. "Dealers, Critics, and Collectors of Modern Painting: Aspects of the Parisian Art Market between 1910-1930." New York: Garland, 1981, p. 23].
[2] According to an annotated auction catalog at the Frick Art Reference Library, Druet was the buyer. Eugène Druet, owner of Galerie Druet, was also the appraiser at this auction ["Collection de la 'Peau de l'Ours.'" Paris: Hôtel Drouet, 1914, cat. no. 64]. The catalogue raisonné mistakenly lists the painting as lot no. 62 instead of 64.
[3] Pieter van der Velde was a Dutch collector from Rotterdam who settled in Le Havre, France after 1870. A 1968 study of his collection mentioned an unidentified Picasso thought to be this painting [Walter, Rudolphe. "Pieter can der Velde: Un Amateur Éclairé." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 72 (October 1968): 203-206]. It was later confirmed that the Picasso painting in van de Velde's collection was "The Mother" [Haudiquet, Annette and Geraldine Lefebvre, eds. "Le Cercle de l'art moderne: Collectionneurs d'avant-garde au Havre." Paris: Réunion des musées nationaux—Grand Palais, 2012, p. 101]. This catalogue was cited in an email from Axelle Louzon, received by the Museum on October 19, 2025 [SLAM document files].
[4] According to a letter dated December 30, 1938 from Valentine Dudensing, Chester Dale purchased the painting in 1927 [SLAM document files]. The painting was listed as being in the Chester Dale collection in a 1936 publication [Bulliet, C.J. "The Significant Moderns and their Pictures." New York: Covici Friede, 1936, fig. no. 99]. In a letter dated January 6, 1939, Valentine Dudensing indicates that he would prefer that "for the time being" the fact the picture came from the Chester Dale collection not be revealed [SLAM document files]. This seems to suggest that the picture came directly from the Dale collection to Valentine Gallery.
[5] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, February 9, 1939.
La Peau de l'Ours Collection, Paris, France [1]
1914/03/02 -
Galerie Eugène Druet, Paris, France, purchased from the sale of the La Peau de l'Ours Collection at Hôtel Drouet, Paris, France, March 2, 1903, lot no. 64 [2]
c.1914 -
Pieter van de Velde (1848-1922), Le Havre, France [3]
1927 - still in 1936
Chester Dale (1883-1962), New York, NY, USA [4]
- 1939
Valentine Gallery (Valentine Dudensing), New York, NY
1939/01/06 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Valentine Gallery [5]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is the catalogue raisonné of Picasso's paintings from 1900-1906, cat. no.V.9 [Daix, Pierre and Georges Boudaille. "Picasso, The Blue and Rose Periods: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings 1990 1906." Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society Ltd., 1967]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] La Peau de l'Ours was an art collection club founded by André Level [Gee, Malcom. "Dealers, Critics, and Collectors of Modern Painting: Aspects of the Parisian Art Market between 1910-1930." New York: Garland, 1981, p. 23].
[2] According to an annotated auction catalog at the Frick Art Reference Library, Druet was the buyer. Eugène Druet, owner of Galerie Druet, was also the appraiser at this auction ["Collection de la 'Peau de l'Ours.'" Paris: Hôtel Drouet, 1914, cat. no. 64]. The catalogue raisonné mistakenly lists the painting as lot no. 62 instead of 64.
[3] Pieter van der Velde was a Dutch collector from Rotterdam who settled in Le Havre, France after 1870. A 1968 study of his collection mentioned an unidentified Picasso thought to be this painting [Walter, Rudolphe. "Pieter can der Velde: Un Amateur Éclairé." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 72 (October 1968): 203-206]. It was later confirmed that the Picasso painting in van de Velde's collection was "The Mother" [Haudiquet, Annette and Geraldine Lefebvre, eds. "Le Cercle de l'art moderne: Collectionneurs d'avant-garde au Havre." Paris: Réunion des musées nationaux—Grand Palais, 2012, p. 101]. This catalogue was cited in an email from Axelle Louzon, received by the Museum on October 19, 2025 [SLAM document files].
[4] According to a letter dated December 30, 1938 from Valentine Dudensing, Chester Dale purchased the painting in 1927 [SLAM document files]. The painting was listed as being in the Chester Dale collection in a 1936 publication [Bulliet, C.J. "The Significant Moderns and their Pictures." New York: Covici Friede, 1936, fig. no. 99]. In a letter dated January 6, 1939, Valentine Dudensing indicates that he would prefer that "for the time being" the fact the picture came from the Chester Dale collection not be revealed [SLAM document files]. This seems to suggest that the picture came directly from the Dale collection to Valentine Gallery.
[5] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, February 9, 1939.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.