Portrait of Marcel
William Nelson Copley, American, 1919 - 1996
Geography:
Made in United States, North and Central America
Date:
1951Medium:
Oil on canvasDimensions:
17 5/8 x 14 5/8inches (44.8 x 37.1cm)Curatorial Department:
Modern and Contemporary ArtObject Location:
1998-4-24Credit Line:
Gift of Jacqueline, Paul, and Peter Matisse in memory of their mother, Alexina Duchamp, 1998
Made in United States, North and Central America
Date:
1951Medium:
Oil on canvasDimensions:
17 5/8 x 14 5/8inches (44.8 x 37.1cm)Curatorial Department:
Modern and Contemporary ArtObject Location:
Currently not on view
Accession Number:1998-4-24Credit Line:
Gift of Jacqueline, Paul, and Peter Matisse in memory of their mother, Alexina Duchamp, 1998
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In 1966, following the completion of his final work, Étant donnés, Marcel Duchamp enlisted the help of his longtime friend---painter and philanthropist William Nelson Copley---to see the work to its final resting place at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Copley was one of the few people to whom Duchamp revealed his secret masterpiece, and its power convinced Copley to purchase the work through his William and Noma Copley Foundation (later the Cassandra Foundation) for $60,000, with the agreement that Étant donnés eventually be donated to the Museum.
