Jean-Baptiste Greuze

James-Alexandre comte de Pourtalès-Gorgier (1776-1865), Paris;
His sale, Paris, Pourtalès, 27 March - 4 April 1865, lot 265, for Ff 5,200 (as "Tête de jeune fille, les cheveux retenus par un lèger bandeau; elle est vêtue d'une robe de couleur violette qu'entoure un ceinture blanche. Elle est appuyée sur le dossier d'une chaise"), to comte Henri de Pourtalès;
Pierre-Louis Dreyfuss, Paris, circa 1930;
Thence by descent and anonymously sold, New York, Sotheby's, 25 May 2000, lot 89, for $181,750;
There purchased by the present owner. 

J. Martin and C. Masson, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint et dessiné de J.-B. Greuze, Paris 1906, p. 41, cat. no. 598.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work has not been recently restored. The canvas has an old lining and is on an old stretcher. The painting is not abraded, and there is a good healthy paint layer in the face and hands. The darker parts of the clothing on the left side and the lower right have visibly cracked. There is discolored retouching around the edges and beneath the hands in the lower left. No other restorations are apparent. The condition is very good overall, but the painting would greatly benefit from proper restoration.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

We are grateful to Edgar Munhall, who based on firsthand inspection, has confirmed the present painting to be by Greuze.  In a written communication Munhall writes, "A Girl in a Lavender Dress is a typical example of the sober, classicizing portraits Greuze was painting towards the end of his life in 1805. The unusual palette, the serious expression of the subject, and the coiffure à l'antiqueall convey a seriousness unknown in the artist's earlier career. The presence of this canvas in the highly distinguished collection of the comte de Pourtalès-Gorgier is alone a testimony to its quality"

Dr. Munhall's original letter of expertise accompanies this lot.