Valley in the Auvergne Mountains
- Date
- 1830
- Material
- Oil on paper mounted on canvas
- depicts
- Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, France, Europe
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 8 5/8 x 12 1/4 in. (21.9 x 31.1 cm)
framed: 12 5/16 x 16 3/16 x 2 3/16 in. (31.3 x 41.1 x 5.6 cm) - Credit Line
- Friends Endowment Fund
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 170:1966
NOTES
Théodore Rousseau’s painting highlights the artist’s rugged and gestural brushwork. As with many of the artist’s outdoor sketches, this was first painted on paper and later mounted to canvas in order to make it more marketable. Rousseau rarely traveled outside France, and his career is characterized by a nationalistic focus on his native country. This early work dates from a trip in 1830 to the volcanic region of Auvergne in central France when the artist was only eighteen years old.
Provenance
by 1959 - still in 1960
Private Collection [1]
- 1961
Hazlitt Gallery, London, England
1961 -
Curwen Eliot Hodgkin (1905-1987) and Maria Clara Henderson Hodgkin (Mimi), London, England, purchased from Hazlitt Gallery [2]
1965/12/03 -
S. Hahn, London, England, purchased at auction, Christie's, London, December 3, 1965, lot no. 73 [3]
- 1966
E. V. Thaw & Co., Inc. (Eugene Victor Thaw), New York, NY, USA
1966 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from E. V. Thaw & Co., Inc. [4]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is the 1999 catalogue raisonné on the artist by Michel Schulman [Schulman, Michel. "Théodore Rousseau 1812-1867: Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint." Paris: Les éditions de l'Amateur, 1999, cat. 31]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] The catalogue raisonné lists Galerie Brame, Paris, France in the early provenance for this painting. However, Galerie Brame & Lorenceau informed the Museum that the work was simply consigned to Galerie Brame by a private collector in May 1959, and returned unsold in July 1960 [letter from Sylvie Brame of Galerie Brame & Lorenceau dated November 22, 2005, SLAM document files].
[2] This painting was exhibited at the Hazlitt Gallery in 1961 as lent by Mr. and Mrs. Eliot Hodgkin. "Brame" and "Hazlitt Gallery, 1961" were included in a listing of former collections ["Paintings by 'Le Grand Refusé' Théodore Rousseau, 1812-1867." London: Hazlitt Gallery, November 1961, cat. 6]. Eliot Hodgkin was a painter; he and his wife Mimi were also art collectors who were primarily interested in eighteenth and nineteenth century paintings and drawings [Ford, Brinsley. "Eliot Hodgkin 1905-1987, Painter & Collector." London: Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, 1990].
[3] The painting was put up for auction in December 1965, although the seller is not indicated in the catalogue ["Important Impressionist and Modern Drawings, Paintings, and Sculpture: The Properties of Colonel and Mrs. LeRay Berdeau of New York City, The Late M. Dreyfus-Marx of Basle, Switzerland, the Aequus Corporation of New York City, the Hon. Richard Smith and others." London: Christie's, December 3, 1965, lot no. 73]. The price list for the sale lists S. Hahn as the buyer [copy, SLAM document files]. A 1978 exhibition catalogue also indicates that S. Hahn purchased the painting from the Christie's sale [Wisdom, John Minor. "French Nineteenth Century Oil Sketches: David to Degas." Chapel Hill, NC: The William Hayes Ackland Memorial Art Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1978, cat. 56].
The catalogue raisonné, however, lists the collection of LeRay Berdeau directly after the 1965 sale, and before S. Hahn. Colonel and Mrs. LeRay W. Berdeau, of New York City offered property at the 1965 sale, although the Rousseau appears to fall under a section in the catalogue marked "Different Properties," rather than from their collection. If the Berdeau's owned this work at any time, it was certainly not after the December 1965 sale. The inclusion of LeRay Berdeau in the provenance for this painting seems to be an erroneous entry in the catalogue raisonné.
[4] Bill of Sale dated November 9, 1966 from E. V. Thaw & Co., Inc. [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control and Associate Members of the Board of Control of the City Art Museum, September 22, 1966.
Private Collection [1]
- 1961
Hazlitt Gallery, London, England
1961 -
Curwen Eliot Hodgkin (1905-1987) and Maria Clara Henderson Hodgkin (Mimi), London, England, purchased from Hazlitt Gallery [2]
1965/12/03 -
S. Hahn, London, England, purchased at auction, Christie's, London, December 3, 1965, lot no. 73 [3]
- 1966
E. V. Thaw & Co., Inc. (Eugene Victor Thaw), New York, NY, USA
1966 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from E. V. Thaw & Co., Inc. [4]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is the 1999 catalogue raisonné on the artist by Michel Schulman [Schulman, Michel. "Théodore Rousseau 1812-1867: Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint." Paris: Les éditions de l'Amateur, 1999, cat. 31]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] The catalogue raisonné lists Galerie Brame, Paris, France in the early provenance for this painting. However, Galerie Brame & Lorenceau informed the Museum that the work was simply consigned to Galerie Brame by a private collector in May 1959, and returned unsold in July 1960 [letter from Sylvie Brame of Galerie Brame & Lorenceau dated November 22, 2005, SLAM document files].
[2] This painting was exhibited at the Hazlitt Gallery in 1961 as lent by Mr. and Mrs. Eliot Hodgkin. "Brame" and "Hazlitt Gallery, 1961" were included in a listing of former collections ["Paintings by 'Le Grand Refusé' Théodore Rousseau, 1812-1867." London: Hazlitt Gallery, November 1961, cat. 6]. Eliot Hodgkin was a painter; he and his wife Mimi were also art collectors who were primarily interested in eighteenth and nineteenth century paintings and drawings [Ford, Brinsley. "Eliot Hodgkin 1905-1987, Painter & Collector." London: Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, 1990].
[3] The painting was put up for auction in December 1965, although the seller is not indicated in the catalogue ["Important Impressionist and Modern Drawings, Paintings, and Sculpture: The Properties of Colonel and Mrs. LeRay Berdeau of New York City, The Late M. Dreyfus-Marx of Basle, Switzerland, the Aequus Corporation of New York City, the Hon. Richard Smith and others." London: Christie's, December 3, 1965, lot no. 73]. The price list for the sale lists S. Hahn as the buyer [copy, SLAM document files]. A 1978 exhibition catalogue also indicates that S. Hahn purchased the painting from the Christie's sale [Wisdom, John Minor. "French Nineteenth Century Oil Sketches: David to Degas." Chapel Hill, NC: The William Hayes Ackland Memorial Art Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1978, cat. 56].
The catalogue raisonné, however, lists the collection of LeRay Berdeau directly after the 1965 sale, and before S. Hahn. Colonel and Mrs. LeRay W. Berdeau, of New York City offered property at the 1965 sale, although the Rousseau appears to fall under a section in the catalogue marked "Different Properties," rather than from their collection. If the Berdeau's owned this work at any time, it was certainly not after the December 1965 sale. The inclusion of LeRay Berdeau in the provenance for this painting seems to be an erroneous entry in the catalogue raisonné.
[4] Bill of Sale dated November 9, 1966 from E. V. Thaw & Co., Inc. [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control and Associate Members of the Board of Control of the City Art Museum, September 22, 1966.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.