The Artist's Sister and Her Children

1898

Pierre Bonnard

Associated Names
Pierre Bonnard

Artist, French, 1867 - 1947

This painting shows five people in an indoor setting: two adults and three children. In the center, a woman is seated next to a piece of red-brown furniture, holding a baby in a long white garment with a wide neckline. Another woman stands beside her on the right, turned toward the baby. Both women have brown hair styled up and wear black dresses. On the left, a child in a black garment appears to sit next to the seated woman, reaching towards the baby. In the bottom right corner, another baby wearing a white garment seems to be seated, facing the left. All of the people have pale skin. The background is abstract, with brown and green shapes suggesting a wall and a doorway on the left. The background is filled with thin, scribbled lines, and the brushstrokes in the painting are thick and visible.
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On View

East Building Ground Level, Gallery 103

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on cardboard on wood

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 30.5 x 25.4 cm (12 x 10 in.)
    framed: 52.7 x 47 x 12.1 cm (20 3/4 x 18 1/2 x 4 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1970.17.6

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Purchased in 1933 by (Alfred Daber, Paris); sold to Georges Renand [1879-1968], Paris.[1] Capt. Edward H. Molyneux [1891-1974], Paris, by 1947;[2] sold 15 August 1955 to Ailsa Mellon Bruce [1901-1969], New York;[3] bequest 1970 to NGA.
[1] Daber and Renand according to Jean and Henry Dauberville, Bonnard, catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, Paris, 1966.
[2] Probably lent by Molyneux to the Orangerie in 1947; definitely exhibited as part of his collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington in 1952.
[3] Purchase from Molyneux according to the Ailsa Mellon Bruce notebook now in NGA Gallery Archives (copy NGA curatorial records).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1947

  • Bonnard, Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, 1947, no. 14, as Scène de famille (la famille Terrasse).

1950

  • Exposition Rétrospective Bonnard, Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 1950, no. 3.

1952

  • French Paintings from the Molyneux Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1952, unnumbered checklist, as Madame Claude Terrasse and Her Children.

1956

  • Hampton National Historic Site, Towson, MD, May - October 1956

1958

  • Paintings from the Collection of Mrs. Mellon Bruce, Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, 1958, no. 24, as Madame Claude Terrasse and Her Children

1961

  • French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century from the Collection of Mrs. Mellon Bruce, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 1961, no. 3, repro.

1962

  • Loan to Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1962-1965.

1964

  • Bonnard and His Environment, Museum of Modern Art, New York; Art Institute of Chicago; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1964-1965, no. 9, repro.

1966

  • French Paintings from the Collections of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon and Mrs. Mellon Bruce, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1966, no. 157, repro

1984

  • Artists of La Revue Blanche: Bonnard, Toulouse-Lautrec, Vallotton and Vuillard, Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, 1984, no. 4.

1999

  • Around Impressionism: French Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1999, no cat.

  • Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art; Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, 1999, no. 66, repro.

Bibliography

1947

  • Beer, François-Joachim. _Pierre Bonnard_Marseille, 1947: 52, no. 32 repro.

1949

  • Raynal, Maurice. History of Modern Painting. 3 vols.Geneva, 1949: 1: 103, repro.

1966

  • Dauberville, Jean, and Henry Dauberville. Bonnard, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint. 4 vols. Paris, 1966-1974: no. 181, repro., as Scène de Famille.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 34, repro.

1978

  • Small French Paintings from the Bequest of Ailsa Mellon Bruce. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978: 90, repro. (continuing exhibition beginning in 1978).

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 578, no. 883, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 53, repro.

Inscriptions

upper left: 98 Bonnard

Wikidata ID

Q20190610

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