Georges Rouault *

(Paris 1871–1958)
Tête de Clown, signed G. Rouault, ink, gouache and oil on paper, laid down on canvas, 29.2 x 32.7 cm, framed
Provenance:
Ambroise Vollard, Paris (presumably)
Galerie Mouradion-Vallotton, Paris (presumably)
Norman Winston, New York (presumably acquired from the above in 1930)
Niveau Gallery, New York, 1946 (presumably acquired from the above)
Perls Gallery, New York (presumably acquired from the above in 1946)
Vladimir Horowitz, New York (presumably acquired from the above in October 1946)
Museum of Modern Art, New York (presumably a gift from the former owner in 1949)
Sale, Sotheby‘s New York, 10 May 2016, lot 152 (acquired from the above)

Exhibited:
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Recent Acquisitions, 1950
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Paintings, Sculpture & Graphic Arts from the Museum Collection, 1950, 1951–1952, 1954, 1957–1958
Charlotte, North Carolina, The Mint Museum, Carolina Carousel, 1950
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Wilson College, Modern Arts Symposium, 1951
New York, Museum of Modern Art
Minneapolis, Minneapolis Institute of Arts
San Francisco, San Francisco Museum of Art & Toronto, The Art Gallery of Toronto, Les Fauves, 1952–1953, no. 125
New York, Museum of Modern Art, XXVth Anniversary Exhibitions: Paintings, The Museum of Modern Art, 1954–1955
Westport, Connecticut, Westport Community Art Association, George Rouault at the Leonid Kipnis Gallery, 1955
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Painting and Sculpture from the Museum Collection, 1964
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Permanent Collection, 1972
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Reinstallation of the Collection, 1981–1982
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Selections from the Permanent Collection, Painting and Sculpture, 1986

Literature:
Painting and Sculpture in the Museum of Modern Art Supplement 1951, The Museum of Modern Art Bulletin, vol. 18, no. 2, Winter 1950–51
Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Painting and Sculpture in the Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1958
Rouault. L‘ œuvre peint, Monte-Carlo, 1988, vol. II, p. 50, no. 115 with ill.

“Tête de Clown” was created around 1907, at the height of this early, expressive phase of his career. With black, almost calligraphic brushstrokes, Rouault outlines the face turned in profile. Glowing red and muted earth tones stand out against a dark green background. The swift, spontaneous style of painting on paper reveals the freedom that made Rouault one of the most radical painters of his generation during those years.
The work’s exceptional exhibition history attests to how highly it was regarded. In 1949, it entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York (Inv. no. 692.49). There, it was repeatedly featured in the permanent collection’s displays for more than three decades, from 1950 until the 1981–82 reorganization and again in 1986. In 1952–53, it represented Rouault in the groundbreaking MoMA exhibition “Les Fauves,” which was shown in Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Toronto after its run in New York. In addition, it was featured in the museum’s 25th-anniversary exhibition in 1954–55, as well as in loans to institutions throughout the United States. Hardly any other portrait of a clown by Rouault from this period has enjoyed a comparable presence in museums. The work is thus regarded as a recognized key piece of both Fauvism and Rouault’s early career.
Specialist: Joëlle Romba