KEES VAN DONGEN | Dolly en costume marin

Augusta "Dolly" van Dongen, Paris (the artist's daughter; acquired directly from the artist)
Private Collection, Paris
Galerie Taménaga, Tokyo (acquired from the above by 1996)
Acquired from the above

Tokyo, The Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, Exposition d'Art Français Contemporain, 1927, n.n., illustrated in the catalogue
Paris, Galerie Charpentier, L'Enfance, 1949, no. 200
Paris, Musée national d'art moderne & Rotterdam, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Van Dongen, 1967-68, no. 97, illustrated in the catalogue
Marseille, Musée Cantini, Hommage à Van Dongen, 1969, no. 47
Tucson, University of Arizona Museum of Art & Kansas City, Missouri, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Cornelis Theodorus Marie van Dongen, 1877-1968, 1971, no. 78, illustrated in color in the catalogue
Paris, Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées, Salon d'Automne 1972, Grandes oeuvres Russes des collections françaises. Van Dongen. Villes Nouvelles, 1972, no. 29
Paris, Grand Palais, La Grande aventure de Montparnasse, 1912-1932: Hommage aux peintres témoins de leur temps, 1986, no. 164

Gaston Diehl, Van Dongen, Paris, 1968, illustrated in color p. 43
Jean Melas Kyriazi, Van Dongen et le Fauvisme, Paris, 1971, no. 56, illustrated in color p. 131

The canvas has been lined. There is some minor scattered hairline craquelure visible throughout, particularly in the light gray pigments in the background at right. Under uv light, there is some pooling varnish visible in the background. There are some scattered minor strokes of inpainting in the background and along the upper edge. There is a 2 inch area of inpainting in the background to the right of figures head. There is a five inch horizontal stroke of inpainting extending from the girls left foot to the space between her feet. There is a 2 inch area of inpainting in the background approximately 10 inches away from the figures left knee. The work is in good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Known for his scenes of Parisian night life as well as his grand society portraits, which often emanated rich sensuality, Kees van Dongen was a celebrated painter within his own lifetime. He moved to Paris from Rotterdam in 1899 where he quickly found stimulating company among the Fauves, including Henri Matisse, André Derain and Maurice de Vlaminck. In 1901, he married fellow Dutch artist Augusta Preitinger, whom he had met while studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Rotterdam. His relatively comfortable income afforded them an apartment in the Bateau Lavoir in Montmartre a few years later, where they made firm friends with another artist emigré, Pablo Picasso, and his then-lover Fernande Olivier. In 1905—the same year as the renowned Salon d’Automne in which a group of avant-garde painters including Van Dongen gained notoriety as the Fauves—the artist welcomed his daughter Augusta into the world. Van Dongen and his wife had sadly lost a son a few days after birth in 1901, and the arrival of their daughter was both a poignant and joyous occasion: she and the artist would form a strong friendship that would impact his life and work from them on. Affectionately calling him Keesie, Augusta too was known fondly by the artist only as Dolly.

Dolly quickly became a model for her father’s work. Though impatient, and never wanting to pose for long, she provided the artist with endless source material. She liked to dress up and is often depicted in her mother’s hats, jewelry and shoes. In the present work, she is dressed in a sailor’s outfit. Dolly recalls posing for the portrait and becoming tired after five minutes, instructing her father to "do the background." She also recalls how she playfully would charge her father for her modelling services—and increased her prices after World War I. Her strong individual character is an important element in the artist’s portraits of her. Staring resolutely outward in the present work, Dolly stands confidently with no indication of self-consciousness: her young dignity and intelligent maturity clearly visible. Fernande Olivier recalls her specific individuality and charm: “Their little girl who must be about two, calls Picasso ‘Tablo’ and spends her days with us. I’ve made her a little rag doll which is now her favorite toy, and she arrives after breakfast clutching this in one hand and an enamel bowl in the other. She knocks on the door with her bowl, shouting ‘Tablo! Fernande!’ and takes possession of the studio, and of us, too. Pablo is very fond of little ‘Gussie’ and never tires of playing with her; she can get him to do whatever she wants. I’d never thought he’d enjoy himself so much with a child” (quoted in Christine Baker & Michael Raeburn, eds., Loving Picasso: The Private Journal of Fernande Olivier, New York, 2001, p. 174).

Van Dongen’s portraits of his beloved daughter elicited a perceptibly soft side to an artist more immediately known for his erotic society portraits and night scenes. The present work is rendered in soft tones—a restrained palette to complement his subject’s innocent charm. Originally in the personal collection of Dolly herself, Dolly en costume marin is a wonderful testament to the quiet intensity of a father’s love.



This work will be included in the forthcoming van Dongen Digital Catalogue Raisonné, currently being prepared under the sponsorship of the Wildenstein Plattner Institute, Inc.