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Edouard Vuillard

The Conversation, 1891

East Building, Ground Level — Gallery 103-C

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 23.8 x 33.4 cm (9 3/8 x 13 1/8 in.)

framed: 46.2 x 55.2 x 6.9 cm (18 3/16 x 21 3/4 x 2 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection

Accession Number

1970.17.92

Artists / Makers

Edouard Vuillard (artist) French, 1868 - 1940

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
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Inscription

lower left with atelier stamp: E Vuillard

Provenance

(Arthur Tooth and Sons, London, Paris, and New York); sold 1947 to Capt. Edward H. Molyneux [1891-1974], Paris;[1] sold 15 August 1955 to Ailsa Mellon Bruce [1901-1969], New York;[2] bequest 1970 to NGA.

[1] Letter from Arthur Tooth & Sons dated 15 December 1977, in NGA curatorial files, confirms their sale of the picture, but notes that their records on its provenance were destroyed during the war. See also letter dated 22 September 1999 from Guy Cogeval, in NGA curatorial files.

[2] According to NGA curatorial records and the Ailsa Mellon Bruce notebook now in NGA archives.

Associated Names

Bruce, Ailsa Mellon, Mrs.
Molyneux, Edward H., Captain
Tooth & Sons, Ltd., Arthur

Exhibition History

1952: French Paintings from the Molyneux Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1952, unnumbered checklist, as Conversation Piece.

1958: Paintings from the Collection of Mrs. Mellon Bruce, Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, 1958, no. 45, as Conversation Piece

1961: French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century from the Collection of Mrs. Mellon Bruce, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 1961, no. 71, repro

1966: French Paintings from the Collections of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon and Mrs. Mellon Bruce, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1966, no. 174, repro

1978: Small French Paintings from the Bequest of Ailsa Mellon Bruce, NAtional Gallery of Art, 1978, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

1989: Impressionisti della National Gallery of Art di Washington, Ala Napoleonica e Museo Correr, Venice; Palazzo Reale, Milan, 1989, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

1989: The Intimate Interiors of Edouard Vuillard, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; The Phillips Collection, Washington; The Brooklyn Museum, 1989-1990, no. 62, repro

1990: Französische Impressionisten und ihre Wegbereiter aus der National Gallery of Art, Washington und dem Cincinnati Art Museum, Neue Pinakothek, Munich, 1990, no. 72, repro.

1998: Il Tempo dei Nabis [The Time of the Nabis], Palazzo Corsini, Florence; The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1998, no. 57 (Florence), no. 169 (Montreal).

2003: Edouard Vuillard, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris; Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2003-2004, no. 77, repro.

2013: Intimate Impressionism from the National Gallery of Art, Museo dell'Ara Pacis Augustae, Rome (exhibition title in this venue: Impressionist Gems); California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco; McNay Art Museum, San Antonio; Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo, Seattle Art Museum, 2013-2016, pl. 60.

Bibliography

1975: European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 372, repro.

1978: Small French Paintings from the Bequest of Ailsa Mellon Bruce. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978: 96, repro. (continuing exhibition beginning in 1978).

1985: European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 431, repro.

1990: Französische Impressionisten und ihre Wegbereiter aus der National Gallery of Art, Washington und dem Cincinnati Art Museum. Exh. cat. Neue Pinakothek, Munich, 1990: no. 72, repro.

1991: Coman, Florence E. Joie de Vivre: French Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1991: no. 32, repro.

1991: Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 262, color repro.