I made a blog entry last weekend about my visit to the Des Moines Art Center. In it, I mentioned that the Center has a variety of paintings by some pretty famous artists in its collection. One of those artists is Henri Matisse; this is "Woman in a White Dress," part of the permanent collection there. One of my regular blog readers, Isabelle, commented on my post that she is amazed how art finds its way all over the world...even to Des Moines, Iowa. That made me stop and think that, yes, it is pretty amazing! How did this Matisse end up in the middle of America's Heartland? Since Matisse is one of my favorite artists, I decided I would try to sleuth out answer to this mystery. This painting was one in a series of works that Matisse painted while he lived in Vence, France from 1943-1949. He was 75 years old at the time, but still working hard at his art. The painting was a gift to the Art Center by Elizabeth Bates and John Cowles. Cowles was part of a publishing dynasty and his life was not without controversy. He and his wife, Elizabeth were world travelers, actively involved in civil rights issues, and huge supporters of the arts. Where and when the Cowles obtained the painting is the next part of the painting's provenance and still a mystery. Maybe a another trip to the Art Center will provide me with a clue?
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Chasing Matisse
I made a blog entry last weekend about my visit to the Des Moines Art Center. In it, I mentioned that the Center has a variety of paintings by some pretty famous artists in its collection. One of those artists is Henri Matisse; this is "Woman in a White Dress," part of the permanent collection there. One of my regular blog readers, Isabelle, commented on my post that she is amazed how art finds its way all over the world...even to Des Moines, Iowa. That made me stop and think that, yes, it is pretty amazing! How did this Matisse end up in the middle of America's Heartland? Since Matisse is one of my favorite artists, I decided I would try to sleuth out answer to this mystery. This painting was one in a series of works that Matisse painted while he lived in Vence, France from 1943-1949. He was 75 years old at the time, but still working hard at his art. The painting was a gift to the Art Center by Elizabeth Bates and John Cowles. Cowles was part of a publishing dynasty and his life was not without controversy. He and his wife, Elizabeth were world travelers, actively involved in civil rights issues, and huge supporters of the arts. Where and when the Cowles obtained the painting is the next part of the painting's provenance and still a mystery. Maybe a another trip to the Art Center will provide me with a clue?
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1 comment:
Very interesting research, Evelyn.
I guess that thanks to arts sponsorships like this one, famous paintings find themselves in museums all over the world.
PS: my parents have an apartment in Vence, and we go there on vacation very regularly! It's a wonderful little town, not far from Nice.
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