MARY CASSATT | Bust of Ellen with Bows in Her Hair

Jane Renouardt, Paris and Hauts-de-Seine, France
Estate of the above
David F. Findlay Gallery, New York, 1972 (acquired from the above)
Sold: Heritage Gala Art Auction, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 1972
Private collection (acquired at the above sale)
Mr. and Mrs. Atherton Bean (acquired from the above; sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 22, 2002, lot 24)
Private collection (acquired at the above sale)

Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1982, n.p.
San Diego, California, San Diego Museum of Art, Personal Views: Regarding Private Collections in San Diego, October 2006–January 2007, illustrated n.p.

Please contact the American Art department for this condition report: (212) 606 7280 or Laura.West@sothebys.com
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.

Ellen Mary Cassatt (1894-1966), the model for the present pastel, was Mary Cassatt's niece and namesake. She was the daughter of Cassatt's younger brother, J. Gardner Cassatt, and his wife Jennie Carter. According to Nancy Mowll Mathews: "Of all her nieces and nephews, Ellen Mary Cassatt was the closest to her Aunt Mary. She was a frequent model for Cassatt from her earliest childhood. Ellen Mary was the one who most delighted in visiting her aunt in France, and it was she who inherited the Château de Beaufresne—a tribute to the liveliness she and her friends had brought to its halls during Cassatt's declining years" (Mary Cassatt, New York, 1987, p. 100).

This work was initially owned by the French actress Jane Renouardt (1890–1972), who appeared in a number of silent films during the 1910s and early 1920s.

This work is included as no. 264 in the Cassatt Committee's revision of Adelyn Dohme Breeskin's catalogue raisonné of the works of Mary Cassatt.