Written by: Zhao Zhihan Ryan Chiu
In 1905, the "Autumn Salon" exhibition in Paris caused a sensation in the Entire Western art scene, leading to the birth of the Fauvist movement and establishing Henri Matisse as the avant-garde standard-bearer of art.
Late the same year and early the following year, Matisse wrote The Standing. The painting was then placed in the most important private collection in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century, and has since changed hands several times, and has been presented in major exhibitions such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and the Grand Palais de Paris, but has not been seen by the public since the last exhibition in 1981.
Forty years later, The Standing has reappeared, and in November the London Bonhams auction was valued at £1.8 million - 2.5 million (RMB 15.6 million - 21.7 million). Before the British gavel, this Fauvist masterpiece will be the first to be unveiled in Hong Kong, giving everyone a glimpse of it from 3 to 10 November.
Henri Matisse (1869-1954) The Standing
The oil painted canvas is framed on a wooden board
Created from the end of 1905 to the beginning of 1906
Size: 33.5 x 19.5cm
Source (value point network collation):
Paris and San Francisco, Michael & Sarah Stein Collection (purchased directly from the artist on 28 April 1906 by Galerie Druet, at least until 1942)
Los Angeles, James Vigeveno Gallery
Oklahoma, Robert Ardrey & Helen Johnson Ardrey Collection (acquired may 1950, circa 1973–74)
Tokyo, Yoshii Gallery (purchased circa 1973-74)
Uehara Shoji Collection, Japan (purchased from the above location on December 27, 1974)
Tokyo, Yoshii Gallery (purchased from the above office in 1977)
Sotheby's London, 7 December 1977, Anon Auction, Lot 28
Private Collection of South Africa (purchased from the above and thereafter inherited by the current collector)
Estimate: £1,800,000 - 2,500,000
In 1905, a painting by Matisse and a group of avant-garde art peers was unveiled at the Autumn Salon in Paris, where he was exhibited in the same room as sculptures by renaissance artist Donatello. The famous art critic Louis Vauxcelles could not stand the boldness of the color and the strong style of these works, and criticized them fiercely: "Donatello is surrounded by wild beasts!"
Vauxcelles's comment is naturally pejorative, but in the end he coined the term "Fauvism", which is ironic.
After this sensational exhibition, Fauvism was officially born. Late that same year and early the following year, Matisse painted Nude Standing, which was immediately acquired by Michael & Sarah Stein.
Brutalist standard-bearer Matisse
When it comes to the Parisian art scene of the early 20th century, Stanjia is an unavoidable name.
Born into a wealthy family in Pennsylvania, her husband, Michael, and his wife, Sarah, moved to Paris in 1903 and 1904, intending to live briefly, eventually staying in Huadu for thirty years. The man's younger brother Leo (an art critic) and his sister Gerdrude (a literary scholar) often recommend art collections for the couple, such as matisse and Picasso. Together, these four Stan family figures established the most important collection of modern art of their time.
In 2012, The Met in New York held a special exhibition for the Stanjia Collection, which includes not only the important works of Matisse, Picasso, Gauguin, Cézanne, Renois, Manet, as well as the portraits of Stanzas painted by Matisse and Picasso, which shows how important patrons and collectors the four are in the modern Western art world.
In a group photo of Stan's family, Leo is left in the back row, Gerdre in the back row is Gerdre, and on the far right are Michael and Sarah
The Met has held a special exhibition for the Stan's Collection, and the cover work is Matisse's masterpiece "The Woman in the Hat" from the 1905 "Big Trouble" Paris Autumn Salon.
Mattis's portrait of the Stances | the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Picasso's portrait for Gerdude | The Met
The Standing, the first Matisse painting purchased by the Stances, appears in several of their family photographs from 1908 to 1914. As for the other paintings in the photographs, almost all of them have become museum collections.
In 1935, the Stams moved back to the United States, and in 1938, their husband, Michael, died. After these two events, the paintings remain in Stan's collection. It was not until the mid-1940s that the market was rumored to be released for economic reasons.
Since then, Standing has changed hands several times, from the United States across the ocean to Toei, and has become the collection of Akiji Uehara of Taisho Pharmaceutical in Japan.
Taisho Pharmaceutical has a history of nearly 100 years, mainly producing over-the-counter drugs, including gold cold powder that many friends may have taken. Taisho Pharmaceutical can now be said to be a business of the Uehara family, Uehara Akiji has served as vice president, society, and president of the company, and is currently the honorary president, a regular on Japan's rich list, and in 2019, Forbes estimated his net worth of JPY 120 billion (about RMB 7.7 billion).
Akiji Uehara was particularly fond of Impressionism and modern art, and in addition to masters such as Matisse and Picasso, there were also Japanese painters of the same period who were influenced by Western art, such as Yasui Otaro, Sueda Kunitaro, and so on.
The Standing appears in the Stam family photo
Akira Uehara was particularly fond of Impressionism and modern art
After bidding farewell to Japan, The Standing was auctioned at Sotheby's in London in 1977 and became a private collection in South Africa, eventually inherited by the current collector.
Throughout this period, the paintings have been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and the Grand Palais in Paris, the last of which was at the Dalehouse University museum in Canada in 1981.
Today, Standing will be auctioned on 23 November at Bonhams 'Impressionism and Modern Art' in London, with an estimated value of £1.8 million - 2.5 million (RMB15.6 million - 21.7 million). The paintings will be unveiled in Hong Kong and then returned to England on the eve of the mallet lifting, and the dates and venues for the preview in the two places are as follows:
Hong Kong | 2021/11/3-10, 20/F, One Pacific Place, Admiralty
伦敦｜2021/11/20-23，101 New Bond St London W1S 1SR
Other selected lots from the same venue
Fujita Tsuguharu (1886-1968), Obi
Mineral pigments Watercolor silk mounted on paper
Created in: 1932
Size: 70 x 100cm
source:
Private Collection in Argentina (purchased directly from the artist)
Nichidok Gallery, Japan (acquired in November 1989 from Galería Jorge Mara and Galería Bontempo)
Private collection in Japan (purchased from the above in 2011)
Estimate: £800,000 - 1,200,000
Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964) Still Life
Oil painting cloth
Created in: 1954
Size: 43.8 x 50.4cm
Collection of Danilo Lebrecht (Lorenzo Montano), Verona, Italy (purchased directly from the artist circa 1954-58)
The family continued until 30 November 1976 at Christie's In London, Lot 67
Private Collection of South Africa (purchased from the above)
Since then, it has been inherited by the family to the current collector
Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) Bronze Age; aka "Miniature 2" model
Created in: Originally produced in 1875-77, this miniature version is from November 1904
Height: 64.4cm
Musée Rodin, Paris
Collection of Le Vésinet, Eugène Rudier, France (purchased from the above in 1943)
Basel, Galerie Beyeler
Arthur Stoll Collection, The Town of Alesheim, Switzerland (purchased from the above-mentioned location in 1954 and subsequently auctioned on November 18, 1972 in Kornfeld und Klipstein, Switzerland, Lot 169).
Swiss Private Collection (purchased from the above)
The current collector bought it from the above sources
Estimate: £150,000 - 200,000
高更(Paul Gauguin,1848-1903)《Landscape of Brittany》
(Provisional translation: Scenery of Brittany) Watercolor on paper
Created in: 1894
Height: 30.4 x 21.7cm
Paris, Galerie Schmit (should be)
Marcel Heyndricx Collection (purchased in the 1930s-1940s)
Private collection in France (inherited from the above)
Estimate: £120,000 - 180,000