Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired from the artist on June 15, 1882)
Durand-Ruel, New York (acquired from the above in 1892)
Private Collection, Cleveland (acquired from the above in 1926)
Thence by descent

St. Louis, City Art Museum of St. Louis, 12th Annual Exhibition, 1895, no. 472
Pittsburgh, Carnegie Institute, Fourth Annual Exhibition, 1899-1900, no. 472
New York, Durand-Ruel, Paintings by Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1900, no. 34
New York, Durand-Ruel, Paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1908, no. 15
New York, Durand-Ruel, Paintings by Renoir, 1920, no. 12

Elda Fezzi, Tout l'oeuvre peint de Renoir, période impressionniste 1869-1883, Paris, 1985, no. 403, illustrated p. 106
Guy-Patrice & Michel Dauberville, Renoir, Catalogue raisonné des tableaux, pastels, dessins et aquarelles, vol. I, Paris, 2007, no. 100, illustrated p. 172

This work is in very good condition. Canvas is lined. Surface is clean. There are a few very minor thin cracks throughout. Under UV light one pindot retouch at the center of the sky is visible.
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.
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Painted at the height of his Impressionist period, Route à Berneval exemplifies the fresh spontaneity of Renoir's plein-air painting. Renoir reached the apex of his artistic development in the late 1870s and 1880s, when he was actively involved in the Impressionist group exhibitions. This period gave rise to some of his most iconic works, including Au Moulin de la Galette and Femmes dans un jardin (see fig. 1). The present work depicts figures on a country road in Berneval, a coastal town in Northern France, with sailboats visible in the distance. By the 1870s, Renoir often stayed at the Château de Wargemont in Berneval with his host Paul Bérard, an embassy secretary who became an important patron for the artist. With rich blues and lush green tones, Renoir here imparts his experience of this quiet coastal town in Normandy.

This work boasts an outstanding provenance and exhibition history, having been in the same prominent collection from 1926 to the present day. The work was included in seminal American exhibitions that championed Impressionist paintings, including an exhibition at the Carnegie Institute at the turn of the last century. After being handled by the artist's primary dealer, Durand-Ruel, the work was then acquired by a prominent collector in Cleveland, Ohio, and has remained in his family ever since.