$7,110
Thomas Nast (American, 1840-1902) Head of Christ Signed and dated "ThNast/1900" l. r., numbered "10.20..." in red on the stretcher, with a label from Abbey Art Galleries, Pittsburgh, affixed to the stretcher and a partial label from "Dicksee & Co." affixed to the frame. Oil on canvas, 29 1/2 x 24 in. (75.0 x 61.0 cm), framed. Condition: Small paint loss l.c., craquelure. Provenance: Acquired from the artist in November, 1900, by W.P. Toler, New York City; returned to the artist for touch-up; upon Nast's death in 1902 the painting was retained by his widow, Sarah; rights transferred by Toler to Harmon De Pau, Nutting, New Jersey, in 1904; sold to J.P. Morgan in 1908; donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1910, where it was given the object number 10.208; returned by The Metropolitan Museum to the Morgan family in 1928, then donated to the Cooper Union Museum that same year; sold at auction in 1946 to Meredith Galleries, New York City, with a group of other items from the Cooper Union Museum; sold by Meredith Galleries, then whereabouts unknown; purchased in 1961 in Detroit by the current owner. Painting is heavily varnished and reveals nothing under black light. Paint loss in center is very small, perhaps 1/16 in. The varnish surface appears striated in raking light. N.B. The painting at hand, a deeply mystical rendering of the head of Christ executed late in the artist's life, seems an unexpected subject for Thomas Nast, the renowned and influential Read more…
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2012-09-07
