Joan Miró
Portrait of Josep F. Ràfols
1917
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Artist
Joan Miró
(Spanish, 1893–1983)
- Title Portrait of Josep F. Ràfols
- Date 1917
- Medium Oil on paper on cradled board
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Dimensions
unframed | 29 7/8 x 21 1/4 in.
framed | 39 7/16 x 31 1/8 x 3 3/16 in.
- Credit line Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Sydney M. Shoenberg, Jr., 1961
- Object number WU 3932
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Work type
painting
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Cubists, Surrealists, and Expressionists
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The Art of the Portrait
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The Centennial Exhibition
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 05/15/1981 - 10/11/1981
Cubist, Expressionist, and Surrealist Paintings and Sculptures
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Portraits and Landscapes
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Moments in Portraiture
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Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, Missouri), 03/16/1966 - 04/13/1966
A Galaxy of Treasures from St. Louis Collections
Saint Louis Art Museum, 01/18/1961 - 02/13/1961
1917
Artist
c. 1918–May 14, 1952
Josep F. Ràfols (1889–1965), Barcelona, Spain [1]
October 1951–May 14, 1952
[Pierre Matisse Gallery (1931–1989), New York, on consignment from the above] [2]
May 14, 1952–December 1, 1961
Mr. and Mrs. Sydney M. Shoenberg Jr., St. Louis, MO, purchase from the above [3]
February 25, 1959–October 17, 1962
[M. Knoedler & Co. (1846–2011), New York, NY, and Paris, France, on consignment from the above] [4]
December 1, 1961–
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Sydney M. Shoenberg Jr. [5]
Notes:
[1]
Josep F. Ràfols, “Miró Antes de la Masia,” Anales y Boletin de los Museos de Arte de Barcelona 6, nos. 3-4 (July–December 1948), illustrated on page 496. In the text, Ràfols writes about six portraits that Miró painted in 1916/17 and describes WU 3932. See also August 13, 1951, letter from Joan Miró to J. F. Ràfols, cited as BC, Ms.3366, f.103 in Francesc Fontbana, ed., Cartes a J.F. Ràfols, 1917/1958 (Barcelona: Biblioteca de Catalunya, 1993), p. 136. In this letter, Miró discusses the painting going to Pierre Matisse.
[2]
“Pierre Matisse Gallery Consignment Book, 1931–46,” p. 46, Box 172, Folder 06, Pierre Matisse Gallery Archives, Department of Literary and Historical Manuscripts, The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY (hereafter referred to as Pierre Matisse Gallery Archives). WU 3932 is listed as No. 2742. See also August 28, 1950, letter from Pierre Matisse to Ràfols, cited as BC, Ms.2004-V, núm. 753 in Francesc Fontbana, ed., Cartes a J. F. Ràfols, 1917/1958, p. 136, fn 3. In this letter, Matisse expresses interest in purchasing the painting from Ràfols. Although Matisse discusses purchasing the painting in this letter, WU 3932 was entered as a commission in the Pierre Matisse Gallery commission book. See also The Early Paintings of Joan Miro, November 1951 (New York: Pierre Matisse Gallery, 1951). WU 3932 is cat. no. 3.
[3]
“Pierre Matisse Gallery Purchase Book, 1947–69,” Box 172, Folder 04, Pierre Matisse Gallery Archives, p. 33. WU 3932 is listed as Stock No. 2742. See also “Pierre Matisse Gallery Consignment Book, 1931–46,” Box 172, Folder 06, p. 46, Pierre Matisse Gallery Archives. See also May 14, 1952, letter from Pierre Matisse to Sydney Shoenberg, Box 120, Folder 37, Pierre Matisse Gallery Archives.
[4]
Commission Book 5b: CA5419–CA7172, 1958 April–1965 April, 1958, M. Knoedler & Co. records (2012.M.54), p. 54, Getty Research Collections. https://primo.getty.edu/permalink/f/mlc5om/GETTY_ROSETTAIE1063272. WU 3932 is listed as #CA5650, and the entry is annotated with “RTO 10/17/62 per 4th floor,” indicating that the work was returned to owner on October 17, 1962. This number corresponds to the frame marking #CA5650 on the verso of WU 3932. The label “painting no. 57421” on the verso of WU 3932 also corresponds to the remarks section of this entry. See also October 18, 1961, letter from William N. Eisendrath Jr., then Curator of Collections for the Washington University Gallery of Art, to William D. Davidson of Knoedler and Company, WU 3932 object file, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis.
[5]
WU 3932 record card, WU 3932 object file.
Inscription [UR of painting:] Miro.
Inscription [verso, UL of frame, small white oval sticker over white circular sticker] [written in blue pen:] K-15
Inscription [verso, UL of frame and UL of backing, a small white rectangular label] [printed in black:] NO. [stamped in red:] 57421 / [printed in black:] FRAME
Inscription [verso, UL of frame, a small rectangular label, the upper half blue with a white border and the bottom half white] [printed in white over blue background:] Transports Internationaux / ARTHUR LENARS&CIE / 22bis Rue de Paradis / PARIS Xe PRO.30.34 / [written in black pen over white background:] KNO / [right justified:] NY
Inscription [verso, UL of backing, white rectangular label with yellow print] [printed in white on orange background:] ALLIED VAN LINES / GENERAL VAN / AND / STORAGE / [V-shaped insignia with a shield at the point of the V] / [under left side of V:] 75 YEARS [under right side of V:] IN ST. LOUIS / FOrest 7-4300 / [printed in orange on white background:] FLOOR [vertical dividing line] ROOM [vertical dividing line] PIECE NO. / [written in blue pen:] MIRO PORTRAIT to / NELSON GAL. / [printed in orange:] DEPARTMENT [written in blue pen:] KANSAS CITY
Inscription [Washington University label verso on frame]
Inscription [verso, UC of frame and UC of cradle, written in black pencil:] CA5650
Inscription [verso, UR and LC of frame and UL of cradle, written in black paint:] WU 3932
Inscription [verso, UR of frame, stamped in black:] K PHOTO [written underneath stamp in black marker:] MIRO
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