Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier

Goupil & Co., New York
John Jacob Astor III (1822-1890), New York (possibly acquired from the above before 1882)
William Waldorf Astor (1848-1919), New York (by descent from the above, his father, in 1890)
The Astor Library (later the New York Public Library), New York (from donation by the above in 1891 and sold, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, April 14-16, 1943, lot 191)
Private Collector (acquired at the above sale and then by descent through the family)
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Paris, Exposition Universelle, 1878, no. 621

Edward Strahan, ed., The Art Treasures of America, Philadelphia, 1879, vol. II, p. 151, 152, in the 1977 facsimile edition, vol. II, p. 13, 14 (as On the Stair)
Oeuvres complètes de E. Meissonier, Paris, 1881, n.p., illustrated (as Dame et Gentilhomme)
Cicerone, "Collection of John Jacob Astor," The Art Amateur, vol. 6, no. 3, 1882, pp. 50-2
"Mrs. MacKay's Portrait: The Famous Painting by Meissonier Which Was Suppressed and Caused a Social Scandal [And] Other Masterpieces of the Dead Artist," The Illustrated American, vol. 6, no. 53, 1891, p. 7
"Paintings Given to the Astor Library," The Critic, vol. 15, no. 371, 1891, p. 77
"Meissonier," The Speaker: A Review of Politics, Letters, Science, and the Arts, vol. 7, April 22, 1893, pp. 452-3
Vallery Clément Octave Gréard, Meissonier, His Life and his Art (New York, 1897), p. 374 (1878, On the Balcony), illustrated p. 221 (and in the French edition, p. 407, illustrated p. 232)
John Denison Champlin, Cyclopedia of Painters and Paintings, New York, 1900, vol. 3, p. 236 
Masterpieces of J. L. E. Meissonier (1815-1891), London, 1913, n.p.
Constance Cain Hungerford, Ernest Meissonier, Master in his Genre, Cambridge, 1999, p, 228, 263

This work is clean and bright and there are no apparent issues with condition. Under UV, small touch-ups to areas in the man's red cape fluoresce.
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.

Throughout the late nineteenth century, Meissonier's work was popular with affluent American collectors, including members of the Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Huntington, Gould, Stanford, and Walters families.  Sur l'escalier entered the collection of John Jacob Astor III and captured the attention of Edward Strahan, who described it in his Art Treasures of America as "a painting containing a female figure, a rarissimus [rare] circumstance with him.  It represents a picturesque chateau staircase of the sixteen century on which to group the personages.... Over the carved wooden baluster, a beautiful chatelaine and a gallant, in costumes of Henri II, look down as if into a court below, where a guest may be arriving" (1977 facsimile edition, p. 13).  Though the present work is set in the sixteenth century, the grand entrance hall depicted is that of the artist's Paris townhouse on the Boulevard Malesherbes (Gréard, p. 374).  The sumptuous surroundings of finely carved, richly stained wood are matched by the figures' dress -- each red velvet pleat, stiff white ruffled collar and embroidered silk painstakingly described.  The careful placement of hands resting against the balustrade, a face lost in shadow, and a lifted foot all emphasize the figures' expectant mood as they await the arrival of perhaps a royal guest, as suggested by the amorial tapestries and pennant held by the lady.

Sur l'escalier was exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1878, and it is likely that Meissonier worked on it a bit further, later adding the date "1879" when it was ready to be sold. A watercolor version of the present work was executed in 1875 and in 1888, an oil composition in which the two figures are placed together at the top of the staircase.  Further variations on the theme suggest the subject held a particular interest to Meissonier and his patrons.  After passing to Astor's son, William Waldorf Astor, the work was given to the Astor Library, which would become incorporated into the present-day New York Public Library.  After its auction in 1943 and until today, Sur l'escalier had been lost; its reemergence after nearly seventy years provides the opportunity to rediscover a work Strahan considered "interesting among the works of the magician who executed it" (Strahan, p. 13).