Chaïm Soutine

Jos. Hessel, Paris (until 1929)
Dr & Mrs Harry Bakwin, New York (acquired in 1929)
Patricia Bakwin Selch, New York (until 1988)
Michael Bakwin, Virginia (acquired in 1988)
Acquired by the present owner in the 1990s

New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Summer Exhibition: Painting and Sculpture, 1932
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Museum of Art, French Paintings, 1937
San Francisco, Palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate International Exposition. Contemporary European Paintings, 1940, no. 703
Boston, Institute of Modern Art, Chagall and Soutine, 1945, no. 42
Baltimore, Museum of Art, Themes and Variations in Painting and Sculpture, 1948, no. 19 (as dating from 1929)
New York, Wildenstein & Co., The Dr. and Mrs Harry Bakwin Collection, 1967, no. 47, illustrated in the catalogue (as dating from 1929)
New York, Marlborough Gallery, Chaim Soutine, 1973, no. 60, illustrated in the catalogue (as dating from circa 1929)
Münster, Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte; Tübingen, Kunsthalle; London, Hayward Gallery & Lucerne, Kunstmuseum, Chaim Soutine, 1981-82, no. 81, illustrated in the catalogue (with incorrect medium and measurements)
Tokyo, Odakyu Museum and Nara Sogo Museum; Ibaraki, Kasama Nichido Museum & Hokkaido, Museum of Modern Art, Chaim Soutine, 1992-93
Lugano, Museo d'Arte Moderna, Chaim Soutine, 1995, no. 71, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Maurice Tuchman, Esti Dunow & Klaus Perls, Chaim Soutine, Catalogue Raisonné, Cologne, 1993, vol. II, no. 115, illustrated in colour p. 681

The panel is stable. There is an uneven varnish layer. Apart from small spots of retouching on the girl's nose and neck, visible under ultra-violet light, this work is in very good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration, although the flesh tones are slightly softer in the original.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A wonderfully tender depiction of an unidentified young girl, La Fillette en robe bleue au col rouge is closely related to another portrait, in which the girl is wearing the same blue dress with a red collar, previously in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (M. Tuchman, E. Dunow & K. Perls, op. cit., no. 114). Comparing the two compositions, Maïthé Vallès-Bled wrote about the present work: 'Despite the similarity of the colours in both portraits, here the rendition of the skin is more expressionist, with the use of multiple shades of red, applied in small, firm strokes, blended in with a few traces of a bluish or yellowish tone. It is quite clear that Soutine is less concerned with the actual rendering of the skin than with the observation of what is happening inside the body once the outer covering has been removed' (M. Vallès-Bled in Chaim Soutine (exhibition catalogue), op. cit., 1995, p. 173).