Lot 372
  • 372

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Estimate
150,000 - 250,000 GBP
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Description

  • Pierre-Auguste Renoir
  • Portrait du Colonel Howard Jenks
  • signed A. Renoir and dated 1865 (lower left)
  • oil on canvas
  • 74.3 by 60.4cm., 29 1/4 by 23 3/4 in.

Provenance

Barton Howard Jenks (acquired directly from the artist)
Mrs. Mary de Bergh, Los Angeles (housekeeper of Barton Howard Jenks)
Dalzell Hatfield Galleries, Los Angeles
Harold Watt, Los Angeles (sale: Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 7th November 1979, lot 536)
Mrs. Irwin Winkler, Beverly Hills (purchased at the above sale; sale: Christie's, New York, 10th November 1987, lot 2)
Private Collection, New York
Private Collection, USA (sale: Sotheby's, London, 6th February 2007, lot 456)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Exhibited

Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art & San Francisco, San Francisco Museum of Art, Renoir, 1955, no. 2, illustrated in the catalogue

Literature

François Daulte, Auguste Renoir, Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint, Lausanne, 1971, vol. I, no. 14, illustrated n.p. 
Guy-Patrice & Michel Dauberville, Renoir, Catalogue raisonné des tableaux, pastels, dessins et aquarelles, 1858-1881, vol. I, Paris, 2007, no. 527, illustrated p. 518

Condition

The canvas is lined. There is a thin masking vanish preventing UV light from fully penetrating, however there appear to be some spots of in-filling in places where the pigment is thin or where flecks have been lost, all of which are to the background and away from the sitter. UV light also reveals vertical drip lines in the varnish to the lower right quadrant. There are fine lines of stable craquelure throughout and some minor frame rubbing visible along the lower and upper edges and at the centre of the left edge, with some associated pigment loss. 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."

Catalogue Note

The present painting is a rare example of Renoir executing a portrait of an American sitter.  Colonel Barton Howard Jenks, who was approximately 39 years old at the time this portrait was painted, was a veteran of the Civil War who had invented a new form of rifle which he sought to sell to the French Government.  In 1865, Colonel Jenks traveled to Paris where he met Renoir.  The artist was just beginning to establish his reputation in the art world when Jenks commissioned this portrait.

Renoir’s early portraits evidence the academic training he received at the École des Beaux-Arts in the studio of Charles Gleyre between 1861 and 1864.  Early influences upon his art were the paintings of Barbizon artists such as Diaz and Rousseau, as well as Courbet.  It was in Gleyre’s studio that he met fellow innovators such as Bazille, Monet and Sisley and moved past the prevailing academic tendencies of the salon toward the development of Impressionism.