Edouard Vuillard

Jacques Dubourg (acquired in 1948)
Knoedler & Co, New York
Curt Valentin Gallery, New York
Eugene V Thaw, New York
Dr Edward Hanley, Pennsylvania (acquired by 1967)
Hanley Gallery of Modern Art, Pennsylvania
Obelisk Gallery, Boston
Dickinson & Roundell, London
Galerie Luc Bellier, Paris
Private Collection (acquired from the above in April 2003; sale: Christie's, London, 23rd June 2010, lot 1)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

New York, Gallery of Modern Art & Philadelphia, Museum of Modern Art, Selections from the Collection of Dr. and Mrs. T. Edward Hanley, Bradford, Pennsylvania, 1967, illustrated in the catalogue p. 45
Ohio, Gallery of Fine Arts, Works from the Hanley Collection, 1968
New York, Berry Hill Galleries, Edouard Vuillard. 'Le silence me garde', 2003, no. 10, illustrated pp 48 & 107

Antoine Salomon & Guy Cogeval, Vuillard, The Inexhaustible Glance, Critical Catalogue of Paintings and Pastels, Paris, 2003, vol. I, no. IV-140, illustrated in colour p. 307

Painted on paper laid down on board, which has been laid onto cradled-panel. UV examination reveals a few very minor lines of retouching to parts of the extreme edges relating to minor wear. There is some very minor craquelure to the extreme right and lower edges and some tiny associated paint losses. Otherwise this work is in overall 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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

La Couture is a superb example of the interior scenes for which Vuillard is celebrated. The female seamstress is most probably Vuillard's mother, with whom he lived until her death. Vuillard's mother was a successful corsetière and Vuillard drew constant inspiration from her busy domestic enterprise.

As Kimberly Jones notes, 'Vuillard's women are perpetually absorbed in their occupations and...remain totally unconscious of the presence of the artist and the gaze of the viewer' (Guy Cogeval, Édouard Vuillard (exhibition catalogue), Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, 2003, p. 131). In contrast to the portraits Vuillard would be commissioned to paint in later years, his fêted series of domestic interiors focus upon craft rather than identity. Elizabeth Wynne Easton notes, 'The sewing paintings are icons of the inwardness that informed Vuillard's personal approach to Symbolism' (Elizabeth Wynne Easton, The Intimate Interiors of Edouard Vuillard (exhibition catalogue), The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. & The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, 1989, p. 55). Through this repetitive, quiet and reflective act, the figure is transformed into an inscrutable silhouette ensconced in a dramatically lit interior to create an atmosphere of hushed intimacy. Art critic Albert Aurier, a contemporary of Vuillard, 'admired these women bent over their work in gas lit interiors, seeing them as possessing "the charm of the unexpected" and expressing the bittersweet emotions of life and the tenderness of intimacy' (Gloria Groom, Edouard Vuillard: Painter-Decorator, New Haven, 1993, p. 28).