The Cleveland Museum of Art

• Provenance
  1891

  (Paris salon, 1891, no. 874 or 875, probably sold to a private collector)

  Probably from 1891

  Possibly a private collector, probably sold to an Italian private collector.

  After 1891

  Private collector, Italy, by descent to his family

  Before 1971

  Family of an Italian collector, possibly consigned to Christie's

  1971

  (Christie's, London, sale, July 9, 1971, lot 258, sold to Ferrers Gallery

  1971-1971/1972

  (Ferrers Gallery, London, probably sold to Cyril Humphris)

  Until 1972

  (Cyril Humphris, London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

  1972-

  The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio

  Provenance Footnotes

  1 The consignor of the painting to the sale at Christie’s in 1971 believed that it had been purchased directly from the artist, quite possibly at the Salon of 1891. The painting’s original frame is inscribed with “Salon de 1891,” and its presence is confirmed in a contemporary descriptive account of exhibited Aman-Jean paintings at the Salon: “Combien je préfère…les deux portraits de M. Aman Jean! Celui surtout de la jeune femme en noir, qui tient un bouquet de clématites, est d’une mélancolie communicative, d’un deuil attendrissant qui le gravent dans le souvenir, d’autant plus que le sentiment sincere et profound en est sontenu par un arrangement des couleurs, dans la gamme des tons de deuil, très habile et très soigné.”  However, because both nos. 874 and 875 in the exhibition catalogue are titled “Portrait” and neither is reproduced, either may be the CMA painting. 

  2 Christie’s files indicate that an “Italian gentleman” purchased the painting from someone, probably a private co

  3 The correspondence concerning this painting's provenance prior to the 1971 Christie's sale is somewhat unclear in its description of the chain of ownership.  It seems that the Aman-Jean was likely consigned to Christie's by a descendent of the Italian collector who acquired the painting in the late ninteenth century; however, it is also possible that an unidentified collector was the consignor and should follow the Italian family in the provenance.

  4 In the auction catalogue, the painting is titled “Meditation.”

  5 The price list for the July 9, 1971 Christie's sale notes that Ferrers Gallery was the buyer of the Aman-Jean painting.
• Citations
  Christie, Manson & Woods. Impressionist and Modern Drawings, Paintings and Sculpture. June 9, 1971.

  Christie, Manson & Woods. Impressionist and Modern Drawings, Paintings and Sculpture. June 9, 1971.

  Patrick Lindsay, letter to Sherman Lee, Jan. 3, 1973, in CMA curatorial file.

  Patrick Lindsay, letter to Sherman Lee, Jan. 3, 1973, in CMA curatorial file

  Patrick Lindsay, letter to Sherman Lee, Jan. 3, 1973, in CMA curatorial file.

  Patrick Lindsay, letter to Sherman Lee, Jan. 3, 1973, in CMA curatorial file.

  “Les Salons de 1891,” Gazette des Beaux-Arts 5 (June 1891): 468.

  Catalogue illustré de peinture et sculpture: Salon de 1891. Paris: L. Baschet, 1891.

  The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 217 archive.org

  Argencourt, Louise d', and Roger Diederen. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 4. European Paintings of the 19th Century. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 8-11, Vol. I, no. 3
• Exhibition History
  Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Beijing World Art Museum, China (May 26-August 27, 2006); Mori Art Center (September 16-November 26, 2006); Seoul Art Center, South Korea (December 22, 2006-March 28, 2007); Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, South Korea (April 7-May 20, 2007); Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (June 9-September 16, 2007); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 15-June 1, 2008); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (June 22-September 21, 2008); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (October 12, 2008-January 18, 2009).

  CMA (organizer). Beijing World Art Museum, China, May 26 - Aug. 27, 2006; Mori Arts Center, Tokyo, Japan: Sept. 9 - Nov. 26, 2006; Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea: Dec. 18, 2006 - March 31, 2007; Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea: Apr. 7 - May 20, 2007; Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia: June 9 - Sept. 16, 2007; Cleveland Musuem of Art, Oct. 2007- January 2008 and the Frist Center, Nashville, TN, Feb. 21-June 1, 2008: "Modern Masters from the Cleveland Musuem of Art"

  CMA (organizer). Beijing World Art Museum, China, May 26 - Aug. 27, 2006; Mori Arts Center, Tokyo, Japan: Sept. 9 - Nov. 26, 2006; Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea: Dec. 18, 2006 - March 31, 2007; Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea: Apr. 7 - May 20, 2007; Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: June 9 - Sept. 16, 2007; Cleveland Museum of Art, Oct. 21, 2007- January 13, 2008; Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN, Feb. 21-June 1, 2008; Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT, June 22 - September 21, 2008; and the Detroit Institute of Arts, MI, October 12, 2008 - January 18, 2009: "Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art"

  Year in Review: 1972. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 27-March 18, 1973).

  Paris, Palais des Champs-Élysées. Salon (1891), jean (a.-e.), no. 874, h.c.[Hors Concours] Portrait; or no. 875, Portrait.
• Cite this Page
  {{cite web|title=Portrait of a Woman|url=false|author=Edmond François Aman-Jean|year=c. 1891|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}