Fernwood Spirit Statue, Ambrym Island, Malampa Province, Vanuatu

Pierre Matisse, New York
Pierre-Noël Matisse, Paris
By descent to the present owner

Pierre Matisse, son of the celebrated painter Henri Matisse, emigrated to New York in the later part of the 1920s.  After founding his gallery in 1931, for nearly six decades he was the foremost representative of leading European artists in America, including Joan Miró, Roberto Matta and Alberto Giacometti. 

Pierre Matisse was introduced to African and Oceanic art though his father, himself an avid collector like other artists of the avant-garde.  For Henri Matisse's collecting interest in African and Oceanic art see Michael FitzGerald, "Henri Matisse and the Sculptural Language of African Art", Sotheby's New York, May 11, 2012, pp. 66-69 with lots 81-83.  For Pierre Matisse's collecting interest see Sotheby's New York, May 13, 2011, pp. 56-57.

The Matisse Vanuatu Spirit Figure closely relates to a figure in the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, which was collected in Fona village on Ambrym Island, Malampa province, Vanuatu (inv. no. "1971.207.49").  While the Matisse figure appears to be of greater age, the close stylistic proximity suggests that both statues originate from the same village.  For further discussion see Howarth (2013: 82-91).