Lot 40
  • 40

John La Farge

Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • John La Farge
  • Selu's Daughter (Another Standing Dance)
  • titled Selu's Daughter (lower center)
  • watercolor, gouache and pencil on paper
  • image: 10 3/4 by 13 3/4 inches (27.3 by 34.9 cm)
  • sheet: 8 3/8 by 13 1/2 inches (21.3 by 34.3 cm)
  • Executed in 1890.

Provenance

Doll & Richards, Boston, Massachusetts
Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York
Mrs. Samuel Dennis (Susan Cornelia Clarke) Warren, Boston, Massachusetts
Samuel Dennis Warren Jr. (her son), 1902
Mrs. Joseph Gardner (Mabel B. Warren) Bradley (his daughter), Boston, Massachusetts, 1910
Joseph Gardner Bradley, Boston, Massachusetts (her husband), 1961
Mrs. Ferdinand F. (Mabel Bradley) Colloredo-Mansfield (his daughter), Boston, Massachusetts, 1972
Sold: Christie’s, New York, December 8, 1978, lot 92
Thomas Colville Fine Art, Guilford, Connecticut (acquired at the above sale)
Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1979

Exhibited

Boston, Massachusetts, Doll & Richards, Exhibition and Private Sale of Paintings in Water Color and Oil from the South Sea Islands and Japan, February 1895, no. 25
New York, Durand-Ruel Galleries, Paintings, Studies, Sketches and Drawings, Mostly Records of Travel 1886 and 1890-91 by John La Farge, February-March 1895, no. 129
Paris, Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Etudes, esquisses, dessins: Souvenirs et notes de voyage (1886 et 1890-91) par John La Farge, April-May 1895, no. 127
Boston, Massachusetts, Boston Water Color Club, Thirteenth Annual Exhibition, February 1900, no. 60
Boston, Massachusetts, Museum of Fine Arts, Special Exhibition of Paintings from the Collection of the late Mrs. S.D. Warren, April 1902, no. 82
Boston, Massachusetts, Museum of Fine Arts, John La Farge Memorial Exhibition, 1910-11
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. 97, illustrated fig. 33
New York, Vance Jordan Fine Art, Recreation and Idleness: The Pacific Travels of John La Farge, April-June 1998, pp. 85-86, illustrated fig. 111
New York, Vance Jordan Fine Art, Poetic Paintings: American Masterworks from the Clark and Liebes Collections, October-December 2001, illustrated pl. 13
New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University Art Gallery; Andover, Massachusetts, Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, John La Farge's Second Paradise: Voyages in the South Seas, 1890-1891, October 2010-March 2011, no. 10, illustrated fig. 21

Literature

Edith Burnham, “Four La Farge Paintings Now Being Shown at Art Museum,” Boston Museum Traveler, December 28, 1910, p. 3
Henry La Farge, “Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of John La Farge,” unpublished manuscript, 1934-74, card 357
Michael Quick, “Living with Antiques: A Collection Where East Meets West,” The Magazine Antiques, November 2001, vol. 160, no. 5, p. 683, illustrated pl. VI (as Standing Dance, Three Girls - Samoa)

Condition

The sheet is hinged to the support at two places on reverse at top edge. The sheet is slightly toned and there is some possible fading in the sky. There are several inscriptions in the margins. There are a few pindots of possible minor foxing in the sky.
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

In an entry from his Reminisces of the South Seas dated October 26, 1890, La Farge describes his meeting with Selu, an important head chief in Iva, a village at the east end of Savai’I island in Samoa: “This chief is a most interesting and sympathetic person, speaking English very well … [He] explained to us that this being Sunday we have no reception, but that tomorrow there will be a formal reception, called a talolo, and giving of presents, and that there will be dances. So that we shall spend this evening quietly, with a bath in the pool of fresh water, that is open to the sea, and try to rest” (John La Farge, Reminiscences of the South Seas, New York, 1916, pp. 175-76).