Ker-Xavier Roussel Sketching

by 1906 - 1939
Josse Bernheim (1870-1941), Paris, France [1]

1939 -
René Gaffé (1887-1968), Brussels, Belgium [2]

Sam Salz (1894–1981), New York, NY, USA [3]

by 1954 - 1962
Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. Weil, St. Louis, MO, purchased from Sam Salz [4]

1961 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Mr. Richard K. Weil [5]


Notes:
The main source for this provenance is the catalogue raisonné on Vuillard, cat. no. VII-183 [Salomon, Antoine and Cogeval, Guy. "Vuillard - The Inexhaustible Glance: Critical Catalogue of Paintings and Pastels." New York: Rizzoli International, 2003, vol. II, cat. no. VII-183, p. 683]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

[1] Josse and Gaston Bernheim ran the Paris art firm Bernheim-Jeune, established by their father Alexandre Bernheim. Bernheim-Jeune was one of the most important commercial vehicles of the Impressionists, after the galleries Durand-Ruel and Georges Petit clientele ["Bernheim-Jeune," and "Josse and Gaston Bernheim-Jeune," The National Gallery of Art, accessed October 13, 2006, ]. This work was exhibited at Bernheim-Jeune in 1906, 1908, and 1938, according to the catalogue raisonné ["Vuillard." Paris: Bernheim-Jeune, May 19 - June 2, 1906; "Vuillard." Paris: Bernheim-Jeune, November 11 - 24, 1908, no. 59; "Oeuvres de Vuillard de 1890 à 1910." Paris: Bernheim-Jeune, January 31 - February 25, 1938, no. 15].

[2] In 1939, the painting was exhibited at the E. J. van Wisselingh & Co. Fine Art Gallery in Amsterdam ["Maîtres français des XIXme et XXme Siècles." Amsterdam: E. J. van Wisselingh & Co., February 11 - March 11, 1939, no. 37]. It was on loan from Josse Bernheim and was sold to René Gaffé that same year, probably during the exhibition at Wisselingh [email dated June 15, 2006 from Willem de Winter, E. J. van Wisselingh & Co., SLAM document files]. A journalist who began his career in his native Belgium, René Gaffé counted among his mentors the writers Paul Eluard and André Breton, and as an art collector established a significant collection of renowned 20th century French painters. This painting is included in a publication by Gaffé about his experiences as a collector; it is credited to the collection of Sam Salz, New York, although it was already in the Museum's collection at the time of publication [Gaffé, René. "A la verticale: Réflexions d'un collectionneur." Bruxelles: André de rache, 1963, p. 19]. This may suggest that Gaffé sold the painting directly to Salz.

[3] Sam Salz (c.1894-1981) left his native Austria in 1919 for Paris, where he soon became a part of the local art dealing community. He worked with renowned art dealer Ambroise Vollard, and also bought directly from artists including Derain, Vlaminck, Vuillard and Bonnard. In 1939 Salz moved to New York, where he continued to sell pictures to an elite clientele ["Sam Salz," The National Gallery of Art, accessed October 13, 2006, ]. The painting also bears an inscription on the reverse reading "Salz."

[4] Although there are no existing records of the sale from Sam Salz to the Weils, the couple purchased a number of paintings from Sam Salz [notes of telephone conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. Weil's son, John Weil, and Emmeline Erikson at the Saint Louis Art Museum, February 18, 2005, SLAM document files]. A 1954 exhibition catalogue includes this painting, titled "The Writer," lent by Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. Weil, St. Louis [Ritchie, Andrew Carnduff. "Edouard Vuillard." New York: The Museum of Modern Art in collaboration with the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1954, p. 102]. A label on the reverse of the painting supports this.

[5] Deeds of gift from Richard K. Weil dated December 12, 1961 (for half share) and June 4, 1962 for remaining interest in the painting [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control and the Advisory Committee of the City Art Museum, December 18, 1961, and June 15, 1962.