Matisse in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art

240 Pages·41.692 MB·English

IBURON LIBRART
THE COLLECTION OF
IN
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
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MATISSi:
IN llll.COLLKCTIONOF
MUSKUM OF MODI'RN ART
I
JOHN FlDERFIEI-O
The Matisse collection in The Museum of Modern Art is un-
matched in quality and scope by any other siiinlc (ollcction
in the uoihl. VUc Musemns hoUhnj»;s. whi(h incUidc a num-
li' I li ili( nil I try greatest and best-known masterpieces,
fxtciid liom tuiiiol-the-century and proto-Fauve paintings
to the reniaikal)lecutouts of Matisse's last years, afhmiing an
.v( I \ irw .1 \niiiill\ every [x?riod in his long and varietl
JIreI
III i! IS iiliK Nil iiated book, all the paintings, sculp-
incs. liiawiii^s, and (utouts in the(ollection, and a generous
I
riection of the prints and design objeds. are discussed in
(xrnetratingand scholaily conunentaries, and a full catalog of
the works pro\id«'s rxiciisivc uoirs ;iud a wealth oi compara-
tive and (locum Ml ii\ iNi m n The texts offer much
new information .uid some itvisious of previously ac(C|)ied
chronology, tlerived from d(M umints and correspondence
recentlymadeavailable
The commcfifii 1< s nxl notes on paintings, sculptures,
and cutouts ha\. l,. , n pn |)ared by John Elderfield, Curator
of Painting and .StulptuM iIk.s.' ou drawings by William S.
Liebennan. Director ol iIk I)( j)artmeni of Drawings, and
those on prints by Riva (iasilcman. Director of the Depart-
mentof Printsand Illustrated Books.
Published in conjunction with a major exhibition of the
Museums Matisse collection, this volume is an important
contribution to the literature on the artist—whom many
litics regard as miIn ilie supreme (olorist of our time.
.
but the candidal* lii.ii |>osterity is likely to declare, quite
simply, the finest painter of the century.
John Fldeifield is Curator in the Department of Painting
Ilid SculptIII II Ml Mil ( um of .Modern Art. His publica-
IMtns related to ilie pn st in work include The "Wild Beasts":
I nux>\\m and Its Affinities and The CutOuts of Henri
\/ • Mi I iilili Id has also contiil)uted to inimerous
i, iM. I IIK iMiiji^ Studio International and Artforum,
ill I I (iontributittg Editor for a inimberofyears.
E\
Jacket photograph by K
Thr Moroecans. ki
.^PETIDURnN LIBRARY
RECEIVED FEB - - 1998 v/ 3 1111 01724 5919
DATE DUE
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BrodartCo Cat.#55 137001 PrintedinUSA

MATISSE
IN THE COLLECTION OF
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

MATISSE
THE COLLECTION OF
IN
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
includingre77iainder-interestandpromisedgifts
John Elderfield
with additional textsby WilliamS. LieberuiaiiandRivaCastleman
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Trustees of The Museum of Modern Art
Thispublicationand the exhibition it accompanies WilliamS. Paley, Chairman of theBoard; GardnerCowles, Vice
Chairman; David Rockefeller, Vice Chairman; Mrs. John D.
weremadepossiblebyagenerousgrant
Rockefeller3rd,President; Mrs. BlissParkinson, VicePresident;
from the RobertWoodJohnsonJr. CharitableTrust. Neal J. Farrell, Treasurer; Mrs. Douglas Auchincloss, Edward
Larrabee Barnes, Alfred H. Barr, Jr.,* Mrs. Armand P. Bartos,
Gordon Bunshaft, Shirley C. Burden, William A. M. Burden,
Thomas S. Carroll, Frank T. Gary, Ivan Chermayeff, Mrs. C.
Douglas Dillon,* Gianluigi Gabetti, Paul Gottlieb, George
Heard Hamilton, Wallace K. Harrison,* Mrs. Walter Hoch-
schild,* Mrs. John R. Jakobson, Philip Johnson, Mrs. Frank Y.
Larkin, Ronald S. Lauder, John L. Loeb, Ranald H. Mac-
donald,* Donald B. Marron, Mrs. G. Macculloch Miller,*
J.
Irwin Miller,* S. I. Newhouse, Jr., Richard E. Oldenburg, John
Parkinson III, Peter G. Peterson, Gifford Phillips, Nelson A.
Rockefeller,* Mrs. Albrecht Saalfield, Mrs. Wolfgang Schoen-
born,* Martin E. Segal, Mrs. Bertram Smith, James Thrall
Soby,* Mrs. Alfred R. Stern, Mrs. Donald B. Straus, Walter N.
Thayer, R. L. B. Tobin, Edward M. M. Warburg,* Mrs. Clifton
R. Wharton, Jr., MonroeWheeler,* John Hay Whitney*
*Honorary Trustee
Ex Officio
Edward I. Koch, Mayor of the City of New York; Harrison J.
Goldin, Comptroller of the City ofNew York
Copyright© 1978byTheMuseumofModernArt
Allrightsreserved
LibraryofCongressCatalogCard Number 78-56155
ClothboundISBN 0-87070-470-2
Paperbound ISBN 0-87070-471-0
Designed byChristopher Holme
Typeset byBoro Typographers, Inc., NewYork, N.Y.
Printed byLebanon ValleyOffsetCo., Inc., Annville, Pa.
BoundbySendorBindery, Inc., NewYork, N.Y.
frontispiece: Matisse modelingLa Serpentine (pp. 6i, 62), The MuseumofModern Art
Issy-les-Moulineaux, autumn 1909. Photograph by Edward 11 West 53 Street, NewYork, N.Y. 10019
Steichen Printedin the UnitedStatesofAmerica
1
COM EMS
List of Illustrations 7
Preface 9
Work
Exhibitions of Matisse's
AT The Museum of Modern Art 14
Publications on Matisse
Issued by The Museum of Modern Art 18
Donors of Works by Matisse
IN THE Collection of The Museum of Modern Art 2
Matisse in the Collection of
The Museum of Modern Art
23
Catalog and Notes 171
List of Reference Illustrations 230
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