Georges Braque
Canal Saint-Martin

Canal Saint-Martin

© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Canal Saint-Martin
Canal Saint-Martin
ArtistFrench, 1882–1963
CultureFrench
Titles
  • Canal Saint-Martin
Date1906
PlaceParis, France
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions19 3/4 × 24 inches (50.2 × 61 cm)

Credit LineJohn A. and Audrey Jones Beck Collection, gift of Audrey Jones Beck
Object number98.271
Current Location
The Audrey Jones Beck Building
223 Beck Galleries
On view

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Object Type
Provenance[Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler (Mannheim,1884-Paris,1979), purchased from the artist, c. 1909]; [sale, Paris, “Collection de la Galerie Kahnweiller (sic)”-Second Kahnweiler sale, November 17 and 18, 1921, lot 25] [1]; Dr. Koch, Frankfurt; Eric A. Alport (1903-1972), Oxford, 1925 likely until, at least, December 1963 [2]; Mr. and Mrs. Norbert Schimmel, Norbert Schimmel (1904-1990) and Evelyn Schimmel (d. 1983), New York, at least, by April 1964 [3]; [sale, Christie’s, London, Important Impressionist and Modern Drawings, Paintings, and Sculpture, June 28, 1968, lot 52, illus.] [4], [5]; purchased by Mr. and Mrs. John A. Beck, Houston, 1968; given to the MFAH, 1998.

[1] See the sales results in the online version of the Gazette de l’hôtel Drouot published November 19, 1921, no. 122, p. 1: the “Revue des ventes: Séquestre Kahnweiller (sic)” lists the noted buyer of lot 25 as “M. Cottereau: 230” [https://bibliotheque-numerique.inha.fr/viewer/59661/?offset=#page=553&viewer=picture&o=search&n=0&q=kahnweiller%20lot%2025- accessed by Robert McD. Parker, February 11, 2025]. This is one of two works by Braque (including lot 20, “Maison à l’Estaque”) where Cottereau is indicated as the purchaser. The buyer is likely, the collector turned dealer, Henri Cottereau, for more information about him, see Samuel Johnson in “The Modern Art Index Project” (July 2017), Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art [https://doi.org/10.57011/AITC1496-accessed by Robert McD. Parker, 29 July 2024.] No other records of Cottereau’s ownership dates for this work are currently known.

[2] At the 1956 London exhibition as referenced, the painting is noted to have been lent from a private collection in Oxford. In 1963, the work was cited in the Braque exhibition in Munich (cat. no. 6, ill.) as being from a private collection; however, E. A. Alport, Oxford, appears among the noted lenders (Op. cit., p. 6).

[3] The work is loaned to the 1964 series of gallery exhibitions held in New York as a tribute to Braque and appears in the catalogue (cat. no. 30, ill.) as the property of Mr. and Mrs. Norbert Schimmel, New York, and was included among the selection of Braque’s Fauve and Cubist works exhibited at the Saidenberg Gallery. See Jamie Bauman’s study of the work in “The Canal St. Martin,” a typed document dated 25 April 1980 and sent to the MFAH in July 1980, which provided essential leads with regard to the previously overlooked ownership by Mr. and Mrs. Norbert Schimmel. [MFAH object file-accessed by Robert McD. Parker, April 2024.]

[4] In the 1968 sales catalogue, lot 52 was listed as “The Property of a Lady.” A request for additional information regarding the consignor of the artwork to this sale was denied, December 5, 2024.

[5] Christie’s printed price list for the sale notes the buyer as “D[avid] Bathurst,” an agent through whom the work was purchased on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. John A. Beck. [MFAH object file-accessed by Robert McD. Parker, April 2024.]

Exhibition History“Braque, Paintings and Drawings from Collections in England with Lithographs," Institute of Contemporary Arts Gallery, London, 1954, no. 2.

"Georges Braque," Tate Gallery, London; Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, 1956, no. 6.

"Georges Braque," Haus der Kunst, Munich, 1963, no. 6.

"U.S. Loan Exhibition," National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1971–1973.

"Fauve—Color," The University of Texas Art Museum, Austin, January 23–February 20, 1972, cat. no. I.

"The Collection of John A. and Audrey Jones Beck," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1974.

"The Fauve Landscape: Matisse, Derain, Braque, and Their Circle, 1904-1908," Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 4–December 30, 1990; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, February 19–May 5, 1991; Royal Academy of Arts, London, June 10–September 1. 1991. (LN:90.4).

“Georges Braque: A Retrospective,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 13–May 11, 2014.


Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
signed on verso: "G. Braque"
View this object in The Beck Collection

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