The Little Gardener

Public Domain

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Artist Frédéric Bazille (French, 1841–1870)French, 1841–1870

CultureFrench

Titles

The Little Gardener

Date1865–1867

PlaceFrance

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions50 3/8 × 66 1/2 inches (128 × 168.9 cm)

Credit LineJohn A. and Audrey Jones Beck Collection, gift of Audrey Jones Beck

Object number76.236

Current Location

The Audrey Jones Beck Building

222 Beck Galleries

On view

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Department

European Art, Beck Collection

Special Collections

Object Type

PAINTING

ProvenanceEstate of the artist, then family of the artist, Montpellier, 1870 [1]; Frédéric Bazille (Montpellier, 1877–Nîmes, 1963), Montpellier, by descent, by 1923 [2]; Catherine Bazille Hérrison (Montpellier, 1906–Nîmes, 1995), Nîmes, possibly by gift, by 1959 [3]; Sophie Marie Jordan, Paris, until May 1976 [4]; [sold by her through Heim Gallery, London / Jacques Fischer, Paris] [5]; purchased by Audrey Jones Beck, Houston, for MFAH, 1976; given to MFAH, 1976.

[1] Frédéric Bazille (1841–1870) was survived by his parents, Gaston (1819–1894) and Camille (1821–1908), and by his only sibling, Marc (1845–1923).

[2] Poulain (1932) and Daulte (1952) both list Frédéric Bazille as the owner. This is the artist’s nephew who probably inherited the painting from his father, Marc Bazille, who died in 1923.

[3] The lender of the painting in 1959 is identified as “Mme. Herrison.” This is Catherine Bazille Hérisson, who was the daughter of the younger Frédéric Bazille. She married William Hérisson in 1925. Geneanet.org: https://gw.geneanet.org/bourelly?lang=en&iz=3&p=catherine+madeleine+andree&n=bazille (Accessed by Julia May Boddewyn, 15 September 2024).

[4] Sophie Marie Jordan has not been identified. It is unclear how or when she acquired the painting. Jordan, residing at 19 rue Marbeuf, Paris, invoiced Thomas P. Lee of the MFAH, on 26 May 1976. [MFAH Object file, reviewed by Julia May Boddewyn, September 2024].

[5] MFAH object file includes a memo dated 1 June 1976 on the letterhead of art dealer Jacques Fischer (dates unknown) who was writing at the request of Andrew Ciechanowiecki, director of the London branch of the Heim Gallery. See Heim Gallery, London. https://research.frick.org/directory/detail/286 (Accessed by Julia May Boddewyn, 28 August 2024).

Exhibition HistoryMontpellier, Exposition Internationale de Montpellier, "Rétrospective Bazille," 1927, no. 32, as "Parc de Méri"

Montpellier, Musée Fabre, "Bazille Centenary Exhibition," 1941, no. 22

Paris, Galerie Wildenstein, 1950, no. 19

Montpellier, Musée Fabre, exhibition organized in honor of the XVII Congrès de l'Association des Pédiatres de Langue Française, 1959, no. 11

Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, "Frédéric Bazille and Early Impressionism," Mar 4 - Apr 30 1978, no. 19 (LN:78.4)
Published References "The Collection of John A. and Audrey Jones Beck," Compiled by Audrey Jones Beck. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1998, p.14. J. Patrice Marandel in William C. Agee, ed., "The Museum of Fine Arts Houston: A Guide to the Collection," Houston, 1981, p. 102, no. 178, ill.

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