Provenance

With Galerie Pierre, Paris, 1931, until at least 1936 [1]; with Howard Putzel, Los Angeles; sold to Louise and Walter C. Arensberg, Los Angeles, by July 1938 [2]; gift to PMA, 1950. 1. A label on the back of the painting for the exhibition "L'École de Paris," Prague, 1931, gives the owner as Galerie Pierre, Paris. Galerie Pierre is also listed as the painting's lender for the "International Surrealist Exhibition" at the New Burlington Galleries, London, in 1936. 2. The Arensbergs' provenance notes compiled 1951 (PMA, Arensberg Archives, CA Use Tax) give Putzel as the source, but erroneously record the painting as having been purchased "long before 1935." As Putzel closed his gallery in July 1938, the Arensbergs must have purchased the work between 1936 and 1938 (see Melvin P. Lader, "Howard Putzel: Proponent of Surrealism and Early Abstract Expressionism in America," Arts Magazine, v. 56, no. 7, March 1982, p. 86-87).

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