A Seamstress
- Date
- 1892
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- made in
- Paris, Île-de-France region, France, Europe
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 217
- Dimensions
- 25 3/8 × 21 1/8 in. (64.5 × 53.7 cm)
framed: 33 1/4 × 28 7/8 × 3 in. (84.5 × 73.3 × 7.6 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of Sydney M. Shoenberg Sr.
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 78:1975
NOTES
The subject of a woman sewing comes directly from Edouard Vuillard's own experience in his mother's dressmaking shop where, as a youth, he watched his sister work. In this painting, a seamstress is hunched over her handiwork in quiet concentration, and is surrounded by a profusion of colorful and decorative materials. Placing great emphasis on the composition of the portrayed items, Vuillard flattened out the forms so that they interlock and produce strong patterns.
Provenance
Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940); his family, by inheritance
c.1950 -
Hector Brame, Paris, France, purchased from the artist's family
- 1953
M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York, NY, USA, acquired from Hector Brame [1]
1953 - 1975
Sydney M. Shoenberg Sr., St. Louis, MO, purchased from M. Knoedler & Co., Inc. [2]
1975 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Sydney M. Shoenberg Sr. [3]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is the catalogue raisonné on Vuillard [Salomon, Antoine and Cogeval, Guy. "Vuillard - The Inexhaustible Glance: Critical Catalogue of Paintings and Pastels." New York: Rizzoli International, 2003, vol. I, cat. no. IV-49, p. 256]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] The Museum's accession records indicate that Knoedler's acquired the picture from Brame, and sold it to Shoenberg on March 13, 1953 [SLAM document files].
[2] Information provided by Sydney M. Shoenberg Sr. also indicates that the painting came from artist's family [SLAM document files].
[3] Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, November 6, 1975.
c.1950 -
Hector Brame, Paris, France, purchased from the artist's family
- 1953
M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York, NY, USA, acquired from Hector Brame [1]
1953 - 1975
Sydney M. Shoenberg Sr., St. Louis, MO, purchased from M. Knoedler & Co., Inc. [2]
1975 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Sydney M. Shoenberg Sr. [3]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is the catalogue raisonné on Vuillard [Salomon, Antoine and Cogeval, Guy. "Vuillard - The Inexhaustible Glance: Critical Catalogue of Paintings and Pastels." New York: Rizzoli International, 2003, vol. I, cat. no. IV-49, p. 256]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] The Museum's accession records indicate that Knoedler's acquired the picture from Brame, and sold it to Shoenberg on March 13, 1953 [SLAM document files].
[2] Information provided by Sydney M. Shoenberg Sr. also indicates that the painting came from artist's family [SLAM document files].
[3] Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, November 6, 1975.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.