William Bouguereau

Holloway (acquired directly from the artist on December 20, 1869)
Goupil & Cie, Paris, no. 4682 (acquired from the above on December 20, 1869)
M. Barbedienne, Paris (acquired from the above on December 20, 1869)
James Buchanan Brady, New York (and sold, his estate, American Art Association, New York, January 14, 1918, lot 35)
K. Livingston (acquired at the above sale)
Sale: American Art Association, New York, April 15-16, 1919, lot 177 (incorrectly dated 1889)
John Levy Galleries (acquired at the above sale)
Private Collection, United States
Borghi & Co., New York (in 1986)
Private Collection, Connecticut (and sold, Sotheby's, New York, April 23, 2004, lot 54, illustrated)
Acquired at the above sale

New York, Borghi & Co., William Adolphe Bouguereau, L'Art Pompier, November 14, 1991-January 7, 1992

The artist's accounts (as Italienne au tambourin (tête))
Charles Vendryès, Dictionnaire illusté des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1885, p. 45
Franqueville, William Bouguereau, n.d., n.p.,  p. 370
Marius Vachon, W. Bouguereau, Paris, 1900, p. 149
Mark Steven Walker, "William-Adolphe Bouguereau, A Summary Catalogue of the Paintings," William-Adolphe Bouguereau, L'Art Pompier, exh. cat., Borghi & Co., New York, 1991, p. 68
Damien Bartoli with Frederick Ross, William Bouguereau, Catalogue Raisonné of his Painted Works, New York, 2010, p. 121, no. 1869/17, illustrated

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This work has what appears to be an Italian lining and is on a rather heavy new stretcher. The paint layer seems to be slightly thin and cracked in the blouse on the right side, and is also perhaps slightly pressed in lining. The painting is cleaned and varnished. Under ultraviolet light, remnants of old varnish read strongly, but identifying retouches is difficult. However, there seem to be some restorations across the lower right corner and similarly across the lower left corner. Given that the signature is on a curved diagonal in the lower left, it may be that the work was originally painted as an oval and these retouches address the spandrel. The condition of this painting seems to be respectable. Despite the fact that there are a few retouches, they do not appear to have been added to the face, neck, or hands, and it seems that there is only retouching to the corners.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Throughout the late nineteenth century, William Bouguereau's most powerful collectors were the businessmen, industrialists, and philanthropists whose immense wealth and social influence defined the American Gilded Age.  The artist's work hung in the impressive homes of Henry Clay Frick, William Henry Vanderbilt, and James Buchanan Brady (1856-1917) — better known as "Diamond Jim Brady."  While it has yet to be determined when Brady acquired Italienne au Tambourin, the purchase may have been inspired by an 1893 trip to Chicago, where he saw Bouguereau's work hanging in the fine art pavilions of the World's Columbian Exposition (H. Paul Jeffers, Diamond Jim Brady, Prince of the Gilded Age, n.p. 2001, p. 94). By the 1890s Brady's fortune had been made in the selling of railroad supplies for Manning, Maxwell and Moore, and he earned his "Diamond Jim" nickname for his love of fine jewels, particularly diamonds.  As Brady's friend the restaurant owner George Rector explained, "when Diamond Jim had all his illumination in place, he looked like an excursion steamer at twilight.  He had powerful diamonds in his shirt front that cast beams strong enough to sunburn an unwary pedestrian.  He had diamonds in his cuffs and in suspender buttons fore and aft.  He wore diamonds on his fingers and there was a rumor that he had diamond bridge work" (George Rector as quoted in Jeffers, p. 2).  Rector also remembered Brady for his insatiable, legendary appetite, calling him the "the best twenty-five customers I ever had," as the gourmand reportedly regularly consumed whole ducks, multiple lobsters, and steaks in one sitting — finishing it all off with a five-pound box of candy (as quoted in Jeffers, p. 2).  Joining Brady at many of these meals, and through four decades of his extravagant life, was his great love, the famous American actress and singer Lillian Russell.  It is likely no coincidence that Russell resembled the lovely Italian model of the present work, while Bouguereau’s careful attention to the glint and gleam of gold earrings and necklace would have appealed to Brady's affinity for glittering ornaments.  As reported by The New York Times soon after his death in 1917, Brady's jewels were appraised at over half a million dollars, while his art collection was valued at over $46,000 ("J. B. Brady's Estate Drops to 1,219,809,” The New York Times, December 20, 1917, n.p.). Over 1,700 lots of furniture, decorative, and fine art from his 7 West 86th Street residence were sold at auction. Among the 36 paintings Brady owned, Italienne au Tambourin was offered for sale in 1918 along with Bouguereau's The Nut Gatherers (then appraised at $3,000 and now recorded as Récolte des noisettes in Bartoli with Ross, no. 1883/10) and works by George Inness, Robert Albert Blakelock,  Daniel Ridgway Knight, Adolf Schreyer, and other notable artists of the period.