Haystacks in Brittany

1890

Paul Gauguin

Painter, French, 1848 - 1903

We look out onto a landscape with tawny-brown haystacks and trees among a patchwork of moss, lime, mint, and pine-green fields in this stylized, horizontal painting. The scene is painted with mostly flat areas of color. Closest to us, along the bottom edge of the canvas, a woman wearing a white cap and dress and a navy-blue jacket stands among three black and white spotted cows, which form a line facing our left in profile. Several round, tangerine-orange forms surround the head of the cow near the lower right corner. The strip of land on the other side of the cows is divided into alternating rows of spring green and coral pink to our left, and forest green dotted with white to our right. The landscape stretches to the horizon, which comes two-thirds of the way up the composition. Rectangular parcels of land are dotted with four rust-brown haystacks beyond the cows, and trees cluster around several brown roofs in the distance to our right. A band of cream-white clouds lines the horizon beneath the topaz-blue sky above. The artist signed and dated the work in dark paint against the white of the cow in the lower right corner: “P. Gauguin 90.”

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Probably Emile Schuffenecker [1851-1934], Paris;[1] acquired by (Ambroise Vollard, Paris); sold to Gustave Fayet [1865-1925], Igny, France, by 1904.[2] Gerald Brooks [d. 1936], New York;[3] by inheritance to Mrs. Helen Brooks; sold June 1936 to (Marie Harriman Gallery, New York);[4] her husband, The Hon. W. Averell Harriman [1891-1986]; W. Averell Harriman Foundation; gift 1972 to NGA.
[1] Per Roseline Bacou, ‘Paul Gauguin et Gustave Fayet’, in Gauguin, Actes du colloque Gauguin, Musée d’Orsay, 11–13 janvier 1989, p. 25. Bacou, an art historian and granddaughter of the collector Gustave Fayet, gives Schuffenecker as the first owner of this painting, although the circumstances and timing of its acquisition are lacking. Schuffenecker parted with it around the time of his divorce, when he was obliged to see much of his collection go to his half-brother Amédée, from whom it must have been acquired by Gustave Fayet. Previously the work was believed to have been included in the Gauguin sale at the Hôtel des Ventes, Paris, 18 February 1895, no. 44 or 47. However, no. 44 is listed as Paysage, and was bought in by Gauguin, and no. 47, Paysage Breton was bought by M. Carbonneau.
[2] Fayet was a wealthy wine grower, an amateur painter, a collector, and friend of artists, who had a number of Van Goghs and Gauguins in his possession. At the time of Gauguin’s death in 1903, Fayet’s Gauguin collection had already grown to a significant size. Haystacks was added by 1904 at the latest, being among the several Breton works that, according to Bacou, Fayet bought from Schuffenecker between 1903 and 1904. It is visible in a photograph taken by Druet of his Paris residence, 51 rue de Bellechasse, the earliest date for which would be January 1905. In 1908, when he and his wife acquired the Abbey of Fontfroide, he sold some of the collection. However, this painting is visible in a photograph of the interior of Fayet's Château d'Igny, dated c. 1914. He kept it until his death in September 1925. Earlier that year J.-G. Goulinat visited Fayet and wrote a profile of his collection ("Les Collections Gustave Fayet," L'Amour de l'Art 6 (1925): 131-142). As the critic confessed, the size of the collection made it impossible for him to realise his initial ambition of enumerating all the important works in the collection, so Haystacks is not named.
[3] Brooks purchased the painting around 1925, possibly at the Fayet sale.
[4] According to the Marie Harriman Gallery inventory card in NGA curatorial files, Mrs. Brooks sold this and six other objects to Harriman in June 1936.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1905

  • Ausstellung von Werken von Paul Gauguin, Grossherzogliches Museum für Kunst und Kunstgewerbe am Karlsplatz, Weimar, 7 July-15 September 1905, no. 2, as Kartoffelfeld.

1906

  • Salon d'Automne, Grand Palais, Paris, 1906, no. 16 as Le Champ de Pommes de terre.

1936

  • Paul Gauguin Exhibition of Paintings and Prints, San Francisco Museum of Art, 1936, no. 10, as The Potato Field.

  • Paul Gauguin 1848-1903: A Retrospective Loan Exhibition for the Benefit of Les Amis de Paul Gauguin, Wildenstein & Co., New York, 1936, no. 15, repro., as The Potato Field.

1937

  • French Painting, Marie Harriman Gallery, New York, 1937, no. 10, as The Potato Field.

1939

  • French Painting, Dallas Mueum of Fine Arts, 1939.

1940

  • Golden Gate International Exhibition, San Francisco, 1940, no. 265

1942

  • Modern French Painting, Skidmore College Art Gallery, New York, 1942, no. 19.

1946

  • A Loan Exhibition of Paul Gauguin for the Benefit of the New York Infirmary, Wildenstein & Co., New York, 1946, no. 11, repro., as Landscape, Brittany.

1953

  • French Painting from David to Cezanne, The Norton Gallery, West Palm Beach; The Lowe Gallery, University of Miami, Coral Gables, 1953, no. 27.

1956

  • Paul Gauguin 1848-1903, The Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, 1956, no. 15, as The Hayricks (Pes [sic] Meules).

  • Loan Exhibition - Gauguin - For the Benefit of The Citizen's Committee for Children of New York City, Inc., Wildenstein & Co., 1956, no. 19, repro., as Les Meules-Landscape.

  • Paul Gauguin, The Lowe Gallery, University of Miami, Coral Gables, March 1956, no. 11, as The Hayricks (Les Meules).

  • Turn of the Century, Denver Art Museum, October-November 1956, no. 11, as Les Meules.

1957

  • New York School for Social Work, March/April 1957.

  • Harpur College, Endicott, New York, May 1957.

1958

  • Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences, January/February 1958.

1961

  • Exhibition of the Marie and Averell Harriman Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1961, unnumbered catalogue, repro. 24.

1968

  • Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Their Circle: An Exhibition for the Benefit of the Episcopal Mission Society in the Diocese of New York, Christie, Manson & Woods, New York, 1968, no. 10, repro.

1970

  • One Hundred Years of Impressionism: A Tribute to Durand-Ruel For the Benefit of The New York University Art Collection, Wildenstein, New York, 1970, no. 73, repro., as Les Meules.

1971

  • The Early Work of Paul Gauguin: Genesis of An Artist, The Cincinnati Art Museum, 1971, no. 29, repro., as Brittany Landscape (Les Moules [sic] ou le Champ de Pommes de Terre).

1986

  • Capolavori Impressionisti dei Musei Americani, Museo e Gallerie Nazionali di Capodimonte, Naples; Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, 1986-1987, no. 19, repro.

1988

  • The Art of Paul Gauguin, National Gallery of Art, Washington; The Art Institute of Chicago; Grand Palais, Paris, 1988-1989, no. 107, repro.

1989

  • Gogen: Vzgliad iz Rossli, The State Hermitage Museum, Leningrad and the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, 1989, no. 17, repro.

1990

  • Französische Impressionisten und ihre Wegbereiter aus der National Gallery of Art, Washington und dem Cincinnati Art Museum, Neue Pinakothek, Munich, 1990, no. 68, repro.

1992

  • From El Greco to Cézanne: Masterpieces of European Painting from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and The Metroplitan Museum of Art, New York, National Gallery of Greece, Athens, 1992-1993, no. 67, repro.

1994

  • From Monet to Matisse: Landscape Painting in France 1874-1914, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1994, no. 228, repro.

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. 58, repro.

2001

  • Künstlerkolonien in Europa, 'Im Zeichen der Ebene und des Himmels', Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg; Singer Museum, Laren, The Netherlands, 2001-2002, no. 364, repro. (German cat.), not in Dutch catalogue, which was museum's March 2002 bulletin.

2010

  • Gauguin: Maker of Myth, Tate, London; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2010-2011, no. 57, repro.

2014

  • Expressionism in Germany and France: From Van Gogh to Kandinsky, Kunsthaus Zürich; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Montreal Museum of Fine Art, 2014-2015, no. 54, pl. 45.

Bibliography

1906

  • Jamot, Paul. "Le Salon d'automne," Gazette des Beaux-Arts 3rd period, vol XXXVI (December 1906): 467.

1923

  • Rey, Robert. Gauguin. Paris, 1923: pl. 8, as Les Meules.

1925

  • Goulinat, Jean-Gabriel. “La Collection Gustave Fayet.” L’Amour de l’Art 6 (April 1925): 133.

1936

  • Frankfurter, Alfred. "Gauguin: Fifty Paintings in a First American One Man Loan Exhibition." Art News (21 March 1936: 5+, repro.

1949

  • Leymarie, Jean. Gauguin: Exposition du centenaire. Exh. cat., Musées nationaux, Paris, 1949: 32, under no. 22

1950

  • Lewandowski, Herbert. Paul Gauguin, oder, Die Flucht vor der Zivilisation. Bern, 1950: 346.

1957

  • Goldwater, Robert. Paul Gauguin. New York, 1957: 98, repro.

1964

  • Wildenstein, Georges. Gauguin. 2 vols. Paris, 1964: no. 397.

1972

  • Sugana, Gabriele Mandel. Tout l'ouevre peint de Gauguin. Milan, 1972: no. 288, repro.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 146, repro.

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: repro. 529.

1978

  • King, Marian. Adventures in Art: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1978: 100, pl. 64.

1981

  • Sugana, Gabriele Mandel. Tout l'oeuvre peint de Gauguin. Paris, 1981: no. 228, repro.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 524, no. 790, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 169, repro.

1988

  • Bretell, Richard R. The Art of Paul Gauguin. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Art Institute of Chicago; Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Paris. Washington, D.C., 1988: 187, no. 107, repro., as The Haystacks, or The Potato Field.

1990

  • Französische Impressionisten und ihre Wegbereiter aus der National Gallery of Art, Washington und dem Cincinnati Art Museum. Exh. cat. Neue Pinakothek, Munich, 1990: no. 68, repro.

1993

  • Thomson, Belinda, ed. Gauguin by Himself. New York, 1993: no. 126, repro.

1995

  • Beaucorps, Monique de. Le Voyage des peintres en Bretagne. Paris, 1995: 38, repro.

1999

  • Kropmanns, Peter. "The Gauguin Exhibition in Weimar," The Burlington Magazine 141 (January 1999): 24-31.

2001

  • Gauguin's Nirvana: Painters at Le Pouldu 1889-1890. Exh. cat. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, 2001: 22, repro.

2010

  • Cardinal, Roger. “Gauguin.” The Burlington Magazine 152, no. 1293 (2010): 806, repro.

2014

  • Benson, Timothy O. Expressionism in Germany and France: From Van Gogh to Kandinsky. Exh cat. Kunsthaus, Zürich; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; The Montreal Museum of Fines Arts, Montreal. Los Angeles, 2014: repro. 97, 278.

Inscriptions

lower right: P Gauguin 90
On reverse of fabric: one, possibly two, round stamps, presumably custom stamps. On stretcher: in black pencil or crayon, "Les Meules (The Hayricks)"; illegible inscription in white chalk; in red chalk or crayon, "Box 311"; scratched into stretcher "13"; in pencil within a circle "26"; paper label with red border: handwritten, "A·100 / Є4)"; paper label: typed and handwritten, "San Francisco Musem of Art / Gauguin / ARTIST: Gauguin, Paul / TITLE The Potato Fields "Les Meules" "The Hayricks" / No: 4396, DATE IN: Aug [..]36 / LENDER: G[erald] Brooks Marie Harriman Gal[lery] / ADDRESS: Wildenstein and Company"; paper label: typed and handwritten, "[GAU]GUIN LOAN EXHIBITION / 1936 / Wildenstein & Co., Inc. / 19 East 64th Street, New York / TITLE: THE POTATO FIELD "Les Meules" / LOANED BY: GERALD BROOKS, N.Y.City / CATALOGUE NO: 15 / Marie Harriman Gallery, Inc."; NGA Label; paper label with blue border: typed, "[Budwor]th & SON / [...] & SHIPPERS / [424 WE]ST 52D ST, NEW YORK, N.Y."; paper label: typed and handwritten, "1149 Weirmann[?] / FORWARDING STORAGE."

Wikidata ID

Q20190147

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