National Gallery of Art :: The Collection :: A Lady Writing
  • Inscription
  • Provenance
  • Exhibition History
  • Bibliography

Overview

No overview.

Inscription

center left on frame of picture on back wall: IVMEER (IVM in ligature)

Marks and Labels

null

Provenance

Possibly Pieter Claesz van Ruijven [1624-1674], Delft; possibly by inheritance to his wife, Maria de Knuijt [d. 1681]; possibly by inheritance to her daughter, Magdalena van Ruijven [1655-1682], Delft; possibly by inheritance to her husband, Jacobus Abrahamsz. Dissius [1653-1695], Delft;[1] (his sale, Amsterdam, 16 May 1696, no. 35).[2] J. van Buren, The Hague; (his sale, Bernardus Scheurleer, The Hague, 7-12 November 1808, 6th day [12 Nov.], no. 22 of the paintings). Dr. Cornelis Jan Luchtmans [1777-1860], Rotterdam; (his sale, by Mierop, Muys van Leen, and Lamme, Rotterdam, 20 and 22 April 1816, 1st day, no. 90); J. Kamermans, Rotterdam; (his sale, by A. Lamme, Rotterdam, 3 October 1825, no. 70); Lelie.[3] Hendrik Reydon; (his sale, by J. de Vries, A. Brondgeest, E.M. Engelberts, and C.F. Roos, Amsterdam, 5-6 April 1827, no. 26). François-Xavier, comte de Robiano [1778-1836], Brussels; (his estate sale, Hotel du Défunt, Brussels, 1 May 1837 and days following, no. 436); purchased by Héris for François-Xavier's son. Ludovic, comte de Robiano [1807-1887], Brussels; by inheritance to Ludovic's heirs, possibly his daughter and only child, Jeanne [1835-1900] and her husband, Gustave, baron de Senzeilles de Soumagne [1824-1906], until 1906;[4] (J. & A. LeRoy, Brussels); purchased 1907 by J. Pierpont Morgan [1837-1913], New York; by inheritance to his son, J. P. Morgan, Jr. [1867-1943], New York; consigned 1935-1939 to, and purchased 1940 by (M. Knoedler & Co., New York); sold 1940 to Sir Harry Oakes [1874-1943], Nassau, Bahamas; by gift or inheritance to his wife, Lady Eunice Myrtle McIntyre Oakes [c. 1894-1981], Nassau, Bahamas; consigned 1946 to (M. Knoedler & Co., New York);[5] sold 1946 to Horace Havemeyer [1886-1956], New York; by inheritance to his sons, Harry Waldron Havemeyer [b. 1929], New York, and Horace Havemeyer, Jr. [1914-1990], New York;[6] gift 1962 to NGA.

[1] The 1683 inventory of goods accruing to Jacob Dissius after the death of his wife Magdalena van Ruyven lists twenty paintings by Vermeer. For the complete transactions between her husband Jacob Dissius and his father Abraham Dissius following her death, see John Michael Montias, Vermeer and His Milieu: A Web of Social History, Princeton, 1989: 246-257, 359-361, docs. 417, 420.

[2] For this sale see Michael Montias, Vermeer and His Milieu: A Web of Social History, Princeton, 1989: 363-364, doc. 439.

[3] This name is recorded in an annotated copy of the sale catalogue in the NGA Library.

[4] This is suggested by the Getty Provenance Index© Databases, Public Collections, record 17464.

[5] The Knoedler’s consignment numbers were CA 1503 (from Morgan) and CA 2758 (from Lady Oakes), per the Getty Provenance Index© Databases, Public Collections, record 17464.

[6] Harry W. Havemeyer (correspondence 12 August 2010) indicated that Vermeer’s painting hung over the fireplace in the library of their residence at 720 Park Avenue, but emphasized that the fireplace, therefore, was never used. He wrote that his father probably had first admired the painting at the Hudson-Fulton exhibition in 1909, and was pleased to be able to acquire it from Knoedler’s when it was offered to him in 1946. Harry and Horace Havemeyer decided to donate the painting to the National Gallery of Art because of their father’s admiration for the Gallery and its director John Walker.

Exhibition History

1873
Exposition de tableaux et dessins d'anciens maîtres, La société néerlandaise de bienfaisance à Bruxelles, Brussels, 1873, no. 264.
1908
Loan to display with the permanent collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1908 and 1909-1913.
1909
The Hudson-Fulton Celebration, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1909, no. 136.
1935
Vermeer, Oorsprong en Invloed, Fabritius, de Hooch, de Witte, Museum Boymans-van-Bauningen, Rotterdam, 1935, no. 86a.
1939
Masterpieces of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture from 1300-1800, New York World's Fair, 1939, no. 399. repro.
1940
Loan Exhibition of Allied Art for Allied Aid for the Benefit of the Red Cross War Relief Fund, M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 1940, no. 6.
1941
Loan Exhibition in Honor of Royal Cortissoz and His 50 Years of Criticism in the New York Herald Tribune, M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 1941, no. 71.
1942
Paintings by the Great Dutch Masters of the Seventeenth Century, Duveen Galleries, New York, 1942, no. 68, repro.; Art Institute of Chicago, no. 42, repro.
1943
An Exhibition of Paintings by Living Masters of the Past, Baltimore Museum of Art, 1943, unnumbered catalogue, repro.
1976
Chefs-d'oeuvre de Musées des États-Unis de Giorgione à Picasso, Musée Marmottan, Paris, 1976, no. 18, repro.
1976
Zapadnoevropeiskaia i Amerikanskaia zhivopis is muzeev ssha [West European and American Painting from the Museums of USA], State Hermitage Museum, Leningrad; State Pushkin Museum, Moscow; State Museums, Kiev and Minsk, 1976, unnumbered catalogue.
1987
Space in European Art: Council of Europe Exhibition in Japan, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 1987, no. 86.
1989
Masterpieces of Western European Painting of the XVIth-XXth Centuries from the Museums of the European Countries and USA, State Hermitage Museum, Leningrad, 1989, no. 14, repro.
1990
Great Dutch Paintings from America, Mauritshuis, The Hague; The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, 1990-1991, no. 67, color repro., as A Girl Writing a Letter.
1993
Leselust: Niederländische Malerei von Rembrandt bis Vermeer, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Germany, 1993-1994, no. 85, repro.
1995
Johannes Vermeer, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Royal Cabinet of Paintings Mauritshuis, The Hague, 1995-1996, no. 13, repro.
1999
Johannes Vermeer: The Art of Painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1999-2000, not in brochure.
1999
Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art; Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, 1999, no. 83, repro.
2001
Art and Home: Dutch Interiors in the Age of Rembrandt, The Newark Museum; Denver Art Museum, 2001-2002, no. 108, fig. 108 (shown only in Denver).
2003
Love Letters: Dutch Genre Paintings in the Age of Vermeer, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin; Bruce Museum of Arts and Science, Greenwich, Connecticut, 2003-2004, no. 38, fig. 55, repro. 181 (shown only in Dublin).
2004
Senses and Sins: Dutch Painters of Daily Life in the Seventeenth Century, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam; Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt, 2004-2005, no. 69, repro.
2011
Human Connections in the Age of Vermeer, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art; The Miyagi Museum of Art, Sendai; The Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo, 2011-2012, no. 42, repro.

Bibliography

1819
Murray, John. Tour in Holland in the Year MDCCCXIX. London, 1819-1823: 29.
1866
Thoré, Théophile E. J. (William Bürger). "Van der Meer de Delft." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 21 (October-December 1866): 297-330, 458-470, 542-575, no. 40.
1888
Havard, Henry. Van der Meer de Delft. Paris, 1888: 38, no. 43.
1907
Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century.... 8 vols., translated from the German edition. London, 1907-1917: 1(1907):598, no. 36.
1908
"Recent Loans." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 3 (1908): 76.
1909
Cortissoz, Royal. "Old Dutch Masters." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 4, no. 10 (1909): 166.
1909
Cox, Kenyon. "Art in America, Dutch Paintings in the Hudson-Fulton Exhibition." The Burlington Magazine16 (December 1909): 178-184; (January 1910): 245-246; (February 1910): 302-306, repro.
1909
The Hudson-Fulton Celebration. Exh. cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1909: no. 136.
1909
Stephenson, B. P. "Great Dutch Artists." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 4, no. 10 (1909): 168, 172, repro.
1910
Breck, Joseph. "Hollandsche kunst op de Hudson-Fulton tentoonstelling t New York." Onze Kunst 17 (February 1910): 5-12, 41-47.
1910
Friedländer, Max J. "Die Ausstellung holländischer Bilder im Metropolitan Museum zu New York 1909." Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft 33 (1910): 95-99.
1910
"Kleine Nachrichten." Der Cicerone 2 (1910): 109-110.
1911
Plietzsch, Eduard. Vermeer van Delft. Leipzig, 1911: 118, no. 31.
1913
Hale, Philip L. Jan Vermeer of Delft. Boston, 1913: 250-252, 373, repro.
1924
Hausenstein, Wilhelm. "Vermeer van Delft." Das Bild Atlanten zur Kunst10 (1924): 27, fig. 22.
1926
Chantavoine, J. Vermeer de Delft. Paris, 1926: 47, 59, 76, repro.
1935
De Hévésy, André d. Review of 1935 exhibition "Vermeer. Oorsprong en invloed. Fabritius, De Hooch, De Witte." Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam. Le Bulletin de l'art, ancien et moderne 68 (1935): 363-366, repro.
1935
Vermeer. oorsprong en invloed. Fabritius, de Hooch, de Witte. Exh. cat. Museum Boymans-van Beuningen. Rotterdam, 1935: no. 86a.
1935
Overbeek, J. M. C. van. "Jan Vermeer en zijn Delftsche omgeving. Naar aanleiding van de tentoonstelling in het nieuwe Boymansmuseum." Elsevier's Geïllustreerd Maandschrift 45 (1935): 231-238, repro. liii.
1936
Martin, Wilhelm. De Hollandsche schilderkunst in de zeventiende eeuw. Rembrandt en zijn tijd. 2 vols. Amsterdam, 1936: 1:193 (also 1942 ed.).
1937
Bremmer, Henricus Petrus. "Vermeer." Beeldende Kunst 23 (March 1937): no. 87.
1937
Hale, Philip L. Vermeer. Boston and New York, 1937: 101, 226, no. 35.
1939
McCall, George Henry. Masterpieces of Art: European Paintings and Sculpture from 1300-1800. Wilhelm R. Valentiner, ed. Exh. cat. New York World's Fair, New York, 1939: no. 399.
1939
Plietzsch, Eduard. Vermeer van Delft. Munich, 1939: 30, fig. 31 (also 1948 English ed.).
1939
Trivas, Numa S. "Oude kunst op de New Yorksche wereldtentoonstelling." Elsevier's Geïlustreerd Maandschrift 49 (1939): 136-141.
1939
Vries, Ary Bob de. Jan Vermeer van Delft. Amsterdam, 1939: 46-47, 88 no. 26, repro. fig. 50 (also English, rev. ed., London, New York, Toronto and Sydney, 1948: 39-40, 88-89, pl. 21).
1940
Comstock, Helen. "The Connoisseur in America. Loan Exhibition for War Relief." The Connoisseur 106 (October 1940): 112-114, repro.
1940
Frankfurter, Alfred M. "Allied Art for Allied Aid. Important French, British, Dutch and Flemish Works in the Red Cross Benefit." Art News 39 (15 June 1940): 8-9, 17, repro.
1940
Goldscheider, Ludwig. The Paintings of Jan Vermeer. Oxford and New York, 1940: 13, fig. 35.
1941
Loan Exhibition in Honour of Royal Cortissoz and His 50 Years of Criticism in the New York Herald Tribune. Exh. cat. M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 1941: no. 17.
1942
Frankfurter, Alfred M. "Proving the Dutch Masters Great." Art News 41 (15-31 October 1942): 11, 35, repro.
1944
Rigby, Douglas, and Elizabeth Rigby. Lock, Stock and Barrel: The Story of Collecting. Philadelphia, New York, and London, 1944: 13.
1946
Blum, André. Vermeer et Thoré-Burger. Geneva, 1946: 179, no. 40.
1949
Allen, Frederick Lewis. The Great Pierpont Morgan. New York, 1949: 109.
1949
Hultén, Karl Gunnar. "Zu Vermeers Atelierbild." Konsthistorisk Tidskrfit 18 (1949): 90-98, no. 35.
1949
Thienen, Frithjof van. Jan Vermeer of Delft. New York, 1949: 23, no. 24, repro.
1950
Swillens, P. T. A. Johannes Vermeer: Painter of Delft, 1632-1675. Utrecht, 1950: 53, 67, 78, 82, 87, 89, 108, 155, pl. 8.
1951
Boström, Keil. "Jan Vermeer van Delft en Cornelis van der Meulen." Oud-Holland 66 (1951): 117-122.
1952
Gowing, Lawrence. Vermeer. London, 1952: 134, no. xviii, fig. 42 (also 2nd ed., New York, 1970).
1952
Malraux, André, ed. Vermeer de Delft. Paris, 1952: 65, no. xiii, repro.
1954
Bloch, Vitale. Tutta la Pittura di Vermeer di Delft. Milan, 1954: 35, no. 53, repro. (also English ed., trans. Michael Kitson, All the Paintings of Jan Vermeer, New York, 1963).
1958
Goldscheider, Ludwig. Jan Vermeer: The Paintings. London, 1958: 129-130, no. 20, fig. 50 (also 1967 ed.).
1961
Mirimonde, Albert P. de. "Les Sujets musicaux chez Vermeer de Delft." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 57 (January 1961): 29-52.
1961
Reitlinger, Gerald. The Economics of Taste: The Rise and Fall of Picture Prices, 1760-1960. 3 vols. New York, 1982: 1:483 (also 1961-1970 ed., London).
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 135.
1966
Descargues, Pierre. Vermeer. Trans. by James Emmons. Geneva, 1966: 65, 130 and 134, repros.
1967
Bianconi, Piero. The Complete Paintings of Vermeer. New York, 1967: 93, no. 28, repro.
1967
Koningsberger, Hans. The World of Vermeer 1632-1675. New York, 1967: 154-155, repro.
1968
European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1968: 122, repro.
1968
The Frick Collection: An Illustrated Catalogue: Paintings, American, British, Dutch, Flemish and German. New York, 1968: 1:298.
1969
Sutton, Peter C. "Pleasure for the Aesthete." Apollo 90 (September 1969): 230-239.
1973
Fahy, Everett. The Wrightsman Collection V: Painting, Drawings and Sculpture. New York, 1973:316, repro.
1974
Canfield, Cass. The Incredible Pierpont Morgan: Financier and Art Collector. New York, 1974: 107, 160 repro.
1974
Grimme, Ernst Günther. Jan Vermeer van Delft. Cologne, 1974: 77, no. 27, fig. 18.
1975
Blankert, Albert, with contributions by Rob Ruurs and Willem van de Watering. Johannes Vermeer van Delft, 1632-1675. Utrecht and Antwerp, 1975: 11, 36, 82-84, 109, 153-154, no. 20, pl. 20 (English ed., Oxford,1978: 10, 25, 54, 56, 73, 164, no. 20, figs. 20-20a).
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 362, repro.
1976
Wright, Christopher. Vermeer. London, 1976: 12, 42, 44, no. 16, repro.
1977
1977 Annual Report. National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C., 1977: 47, repro.
1977
Menzel, Gerhard W. Vermeer. Leipzig, 1977: 68, fig. 65.
1977
Straaten, Evert van. Johannes Vermeer, 1632-1675. Een Delfts schilder en de cultuur van zijn tijd. The Hague, 1977: 48-49, fig. 60.
1978
King, Marian. Adventures in Art: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1978: 53, pl. 30.
1981
Slatkes, Leonard J. Vermeer and His Contemporaries. New York, 1981: 70-71, repro.
1981
Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Jan Vermeer. New York, 1981: 124-127, no. 31, repros. 31-32 (2nd rev. ed., 1988).
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 300, no. 399, color repro.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 421, repro.
1986
Aillaud, Gilles, Albert Blankert, and John Michael Montias. Vermeer. Paris, 1986: 11, 46, 52, 85, 132, 189-190, no. 20, pl. 22 (also 1988 English ed., New York).
1989
Montias, John Michael. Vermeer and His Milieu: A Web of Social History. Princeton, 1989: 191-192, 196, 256, 259 note 21, 266, repro. 44.
1990
Broos, Ben P. J., et al. Great Dutch Paintings from America. Exh. cat. Mauritshuis, The Hague; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The Hague and Zwolle, 1990: no. 67.
1991
Buijsen, Edwin. "Een terugblik op De kunst van het verzamelen." De kunst van het verzamelen [Mauritshuis, The Hague] (October 1991): 7-12, repro.
1991
Liedtke, Walter A. "America and Dutch Art." De kunst van het verzamelen [Mauritshuis, The Hague] (October 1991): 21-29, repro.
1991
Nash, John. Vermeer. London, 1991: color repro. 34, 36-37.
1993
Leselust: niederländische Malerei von Rembrandt bis Vermeer. Sabine Schulze, ed. Exh. cat. Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, 1993: no. 85.
1995
Johannes Vermeer. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington; Royal Cabinet of Paintings Mauritshuis, The Hague, 1995-1996: no. 13.
1995
Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Vermeer and the Art of Painting. New Haven, 1995: 145, 179, repro.
1995
Wheelock, Jr., Arthur K. Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1995: 377-382, color repro. 379.
1997
Gowing, Lawrence. Vermeer. London, 1997: no. 42, repro.
1997
Scholz, Georg. Lyrische Bilder: Gedichte nach Gemälden von Jan Vermeer. Munich, 1997: 36, repro.
1997
Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Vermeer: The Complete Works. New York, 1997: 44-45, no. 20, repro.
2004
Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 210, no. 165, color repro.

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