William Bouguereau

The young girl in this painting is Yvonne, one of Bouguereau’s favorite models. She and her two sisters, Jeanne and Marguerite, provided inspiration for many of the works painted in La Rochelle from 1893 on. While little is known about their personal biographies, their growth from infants to adolescents can be followed through a decade of compositions (as well as the occasional photograph taken in the artist's studio). From Yvonne’s first appearance in Allant à la fontaine (1893, J.B. Speed Museum, Louisville, Kentucky) to Les petites amies (1898, Collection of Fortnum & Mason) and the present work, it is clear that Bouguereau was sensitive to portraying her distinctive personality as much as her likeness. While many other sitters appear distracted by faraway thoughts, their gaze drifting beyond the picture plane, Yvonne is almost always portrayed with a direct stare that connects with the viewer and shows a clear expression of emotion and intelligence. In this painting, Yvonne is shown at circa four years of age, indicating an earlier inception of the painting, probably around 1893. 

While there is no record of it having been sold through Arthur Tooth & Sons, Bouguereau's dealer at the time, the painting was certainly acquired by a wealthy American collector as soon as it came off the easel. Kate L Dunwoody was the wife of Minneapolis banker and miller, William Hood Dunwoody, partner in General Mills's predecessor company and in Northwestern National Bank, which became Wells Fargo. Fabulously wealthy but childless, the Dunwoodys bequeathed large amounts of money for the creation of an industrial trade school for young people that later became the Dunwoody College of Technology. They also created The William Hood Dunwoody Fund, which helped the Minneapolis Institute of Art acquire large amounts of art. At her death in 1915, Kate Dunwoody left their personal art collection, including Yvonne, to the Institute.