View full screen - View 1 of Lot 68. Portrait of Mrs. Arthur Bond Cecil.

Robert Henri

Portrait of Mrs. Arthur Bond Cecil

Lot Closed

October 6, 07:08 PM GMT

Estimate

150,000 - 250,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Robert Henri

1865 - 1929

Portrait of Mrs. Arthur Bond Cecil


signed Robert Henri (lower right); also signed again and titled (on the reverse)

oil on canvas

canvas: 40 ½ by 32 ½ inches (102. 8 by 82.5 cm)

framed: 45 by 36 ¾ inches (114.3 by 93.3 cm)

Painted circa 1925.


We are grateful to Valerie Ann Leeds for her assistance in researching this lot.

The present work depicts the wife of Dr. Arthur Bond Cecil, a renowned urological surgeon in Los Angeles. Born in Millersville, Maryland, in 1885, Cecil began his career in 1913 at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles and later in 1932 transferred to the Los Angeles County General Hospital where he worked until 1936. In correspondence between Dr. Cecil and the artist discussing the prospective commission of this portrait, on December 14, 1921, the artist established, "I must have the leeway as to time and sittings to make a thing that will satisfy me. I do not want to undertake a portrait unless I have every opportunity to make it as good as I can." Upon completion of the portrait, Henri wrote to Dr. and Mrs. Cecil how incredibly grateful he was for their time spent together as they grew to become close friends.