Guitarist

1930 - 1938
Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, NY, USA [1]

1938 - 1951
Joseph Pulitzer Jr. (1913-1993) and Louise Vauclain Pulitzer (d.1968), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Pierre Matisse Gallery [2]

1951 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Joseph Pulitzer Jr. and Louise Vauclain Pulitzer [3]


Notes:
[1] Pierre Matisse originally intended to become an artist, and studied with André Derain, who was a friend of his father, the artist Henri Matisse. In 1924 Pierre Matisse came to New York and became an art dealer, working the first few years for the dealer Valentine Dudensing. In 1931 he left Dudensing and opened his own gallery at 57th Street and Madison Avenue. Unlike many American dealers, Pierre Matisse was known for buying his stock outright, directly from the artists [Thaw, E. V. "Pierre Matisse & his artists." "The New Criterion" vol. 20, no. 9 (May 2002): p. 83-85]. According to gallery records, Pierre Matisse acquired this painting between August and December 1930, when it appears on a pricelist of paintings. On January 31, 1931, Pierre Matisse applied for insurance to send the picture, among others, to the United States. The Pierre Matisse Gallery records do not contain any information on how Pierre Matisse acquired the picture, although he likely bought it directly from the artist himself, with whom he was friends [Pierre Matisse Gallery Archives. 89.33 Pre-PMG Dealers Dudensing Accounts 1930, Aug.-Dec. 1930. The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, NY; copy of price list and correspondence, SLAM document files].

[2] Joseph Pulitzer Jr. acquired the painting from Pierre Matisse in May 1938 [Pierre Matisse Gallery Archives. 119.29 PMG Clients Pulitzer St. Louis 1936-38. The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, NY]. This is confirmed by a copy of the invoice dated May 18, 1938 [SLAM document files].

[3] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, December 6, 1951.