Lot 39
  • 39

John La Farge

Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
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Description

  • John La Farge
  • Portrait of Our Landlord, the Buddhist Priest, at the Door of the Clergy House, Iyemitsu Temple, Nikko (Portrait of Suzuki)
  • dated and inscribed Nikko Japan/July. 1886. (lower right)
  • watercolor, gouache and pencil on paper
  • image: 8  1/2  by 9  3/4  inches (21.6 by 24.8 cm)
  • sheet: 13 by 10 3/4 inches (33 by 27.3 cm)

Provenance

Henry D. Ostberg, New York, by 1979
Michael Altman Fine Art, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1987

Exhibited

New York, American Water Color Society, 1888, no. 401
Chicago, Illinois, Inter-State Industrial Exposition, 1888, no. 236
St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis Exposition, September 1890, no. 242
Boston, Massachusetts, Doll & Richards, Catalogue of Drawings, Watercolors, and Paintings by Mr. John La Farge on Exhibition and Sale, March-April 1892, no. 23
New York, Durand-Ruel Galleries; Paris, Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paintings, Studies, Sketches and Drawings, Mostly Records of Travel 1886 and 1890-91 by La Farge, February-April 1895, no. 33
Washington, D.C., National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, The Carnegie Museum of Art; Boston, Massachusetts, Museum of Fine Arts, John La Farge, July 1987-April 1988
Yonkers, New York, Hudson River Museum; Utica, New York, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute; Chicago, Illinois, Terra Museum of American Art, John La Farge: Watercolors and Drawings, October 1990-August 1991, no. 83, illustrated pl. 6
New York, Hollis Taggart Galleries, American Artists in Japan, May-June 1996, no. 12
New York, Guggenheim Museum, The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860-1989, January-April 2009, illustrated fig. 11

Literature

John La Farge, An Artist's Letters from Japan, New York, 1897, illustrated p. 187
James L. Yarnall, “John La Farge and Henry Adams in Japan,” The American Art Journal, vol. XXI, no. 1, 1989, pp. 55-57, illustrated fig. 14
Christine Guth, “The Cult of Kannon Among Nineteenth Century American Japanophiles,” Orientations, vol. 26, no. 11, December 1995, p. 31, illustrated fig. 4

Condition

The sheet appears to be slightly toned and there is matburn at edges beneath the current mat. There are inscriptions below the mat and tape remnants from an old mounting at top and bottom edges. There are several artist pinholes at upper corners.
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.

Catalogue Note

The present work is one of the most powerful figure studies that La Farge executed during his 1886 trip to Japan and depicts Suzuki, known as Zenshin San, outside the Temple of Iyemitsu at Nikko. Suzuki rented out the house that La Farge and the writer Henry Adams occupied during their stay in Nikko. Shortly before their departure to Yokohama, La Farge completed this study depicting Suzuki on the steps of the clergy house at the Temple. Suzuki, who was deeply moved by the portrait, inscribed his name and official title on the back of the work using ornamental calligraphy applied in silver leaf.