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Pierre Bonnard

The Letter, c. 1906

East Building, Ground Level — Gallery 103-E

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 55 x 47.5 cm (21 5/8 x 18 11/16 in.)

framed: 78.4 x 70.1 x 4.4 cm (30 7/8 x 27 5/8 x 1 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Chester Dale Collection

Accession Number

1963.10.86

Artists / Makers

Pierre Bonnard (artist) French, 1867 - 1947

Image Use

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Inscription

lower right: Bonnard

Provenance

Acquired 1906 from the artist by (Bernheim-Jeune, Paris); sold to Alexandre Natanson [1867-1936], Paris;[1] (his sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 16 May 1929, no. 88); purchased by (Galerie Étienne Bignou, Paris and New York) for Chester Dale [1882-1962]; [2] bequest 1963 to NGA.

[1] Jean and Henry Dauberville, Bonnard, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, Paris, 1968, no. 389.

[2] Annotated sales catalogue, National Gallery of Art Library. See also Chester Dale papers, copies NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Bernheim-Jeune
Bignou, Etienne
Dale, Chester
Drouot, Hôtel
Natanson, Alexandre

Exhibition History

1931: Renoir and His Tradition, Museum of French Art, New York, 1931, no. 23.

1938: Loan Exhibition of Paintings and Prints by Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard, Art Institute of Chicago, 1938-1939, no. 7, repro.

1943: Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1943-1951, unnumbered cat., repro.

1952: Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1952, no. 11, repro.

1965: The Chester Dale Bequest, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965, unnumbered checklist.

1980: Post-Impressionism: Cross-Currents in European and American Painting 1880-1906, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1980, not in cat.

Bibliography

1930: Fage, André. Le collectionneur de peintures modernes.Paris, 1930: 252.

1931: "Maud Dale Presents Renoir and His Tradition at French Museum."The Art Digest (December 1, 1931): 32, repro.

1938: Meier-Graefe, Julius. "Bonnard." The Art News (31December 1938): 8, repro.

1943: Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. Philadelphia, 1943:, color frontispiece.

1952: "Best of Dale Collection goes on Display at Gallery Today." The Sunday Star (23 November 1952): A14.

1952: "Chester Dale's Collection." Pictures on Exhibit Vol XV, no 3 (December 1952): 11.

1952: Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1952 (2nd ed., 1960; rev. ed., 1965): 11, repro.

1954: Walker, John. "The Letter." Ladies Home Journal (March 1954): 64, repro.

1960: Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1960 (2nd ed.): 12, repro.

1965: Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 16.

1965: Twentieth Century French Paintings & Sculpture of the French School in the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965 (rev. ed.): 11, repro.

1966: Dauberville, Jean, and Henry Dauberville. Bonnard, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint. 4 vols. Paris, 1966-1974: no. 389, repro.

1968: National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 9, repro.

1975: European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 32, repro.

1979: Watson, Ross. The National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1979: 128, pl. 115.

1984: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 576, no. 881, color repro.

1985: European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 52, repro.

1993: Duffy, Jean. "Bonnard and Josipovici: 'Il ne s'agit pas de peindre la vie, il s'agit de rendre vivante la peinture.'"Word&Image Vol. 9 No.4 (October - December 1993): 289, repro.