Henri Fantin-Latour

Mrs. Edwin Edwards, London
Williams & Sutch, London
Emile Laffon, Paris
Wildenstein & Co., Inc., New York
Adele R. Levy, New York
Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts (gift from the above in 1962 and sold: Christie's, New York, November 6, 1991, lot 262)
Richard Green Fine Paintings, London
Private Collection, Italy (acquired from the above in 1992)

Musée de Grenoble, Centenaire de Henri Fantin-Latour, 1936, no. 154
New York, The Museum of Modern Art, The Mrs Adele R. Levy Collection. A Memorial Exhibition, 1961, illustrated in the catalogue
West Palm Beach, Norton Gallery of Art, Brandeis at the Palm Beaches, 1965, no. 6
Providence, Rhode Island School of Design, Exchange Exhibition, 1967, no. 3
New York, Salander O'Reilly Galleries, Selections from the Rose Art Museum, 1983

Mme. Fantin-Latour, Catalogue de l'oeuvre complet de Fantin-Latour, Paris, 1911, no. 1448, catalogued p. 152
La Renaissance, May, 1930, illustrated in color
Pierre Schneider, Art News Journal, 1955, illustrated in color p. 57
Art News Annual, September 1962, illustrated p. 30

Good condition. Original canvas. Minor cracking in the red pigments. Under UV light, scattered pin dot size points of inpainting along left and right edges, and in background above to the right and below the flowers. Minor strokes in the red pigments of the flowers to address cracking. Otherwise fine.
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.

The first owners of this work, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Edwards, became great patrons of the artist after they were intorduced to him in 1861 by James McNeill Whistler and the English painter Matthew White Ridley. From then on, Fantin-Latour became a regular visitor to the Edwards' estate at Sunbury-on-Thames and completed a portrait of Mrs Edwards in 1864. Until his death in 1879, Mr. Edwards acted as Fantin's agent in London. Henceforth, the demand for Fantin's floral subjects among British collectors remained high, assuring the artist a regular, welcome income. Mrs. Edwards continued to act on the artist's behalf for the rest of her life.