Woman with Red Hair

1917

Amedeo Modigliani

Artist, Italian, 1884 - 1920

Shown from the lap up, a woman with peach-colored skin sits leaning sideways against the back of a wooden chair with her head tilted to our left on her long neck in this vertical, stylized portrait. The painting is done mostly with areas of mottled color outlined in delicate black lines. The top of her head and her left elbow, on our right, are slightly cut off by the edges of the canvas. Her copper-red hair is parted in the middle and puffs down and around her hears. Her elongated oval face and delicate features are simply drawn. Pencil-thin, nearly straight, grayish eyebrows float above almond-shaped eyes entirely filled in with black. A faint gray line forms her elongated nose. Her small rose pink, pursed lips are slightly darker than the faint blush on her cheeks. Her jet-black, long-sleeved dress has a high waist and a wide, diaphanous gray collar at the rounded neckline. Her left elbow, on our right, drapes over the top of the spindles making up the back of the chair so her hand rests near the gray collar. Her other arm rests by her side. The background is a foggy swirl of sage green and elephant gray. Two faint, thin, parallel, horizontal gray lines that run across the background may suggest a baseboard.

Media Options

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On View

East Building Ground Level, Gallery 103-A

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Chester Dale Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 92.1 x 60.7 cm (36 1/4 x 23 7/8 in.)
    framed: 114.9 x 82.5 x 7.6 cm (45 1/4 x 32 1/2 x 3 in.)

  • Accession

    1963.10.176

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

M. Libaud, Paris; (Léopold Zborowski [1889-1932], Paris); (Bing et Cie, Paris) by 1925; Jacques Netter, Paris; (Etienne Bignou, Paris); (Kraushaar, Paris); [1] sold 5 March 1928 to Chester Dale [1883-1962], New York; bequest 1963 to NGA.
[1] See Kraushaar Gallery Records, Archives of American Art, Series 1, box 2 (Outgoing correspondence) and Series 2, Box 12 (Incoming Correspondence); transcripts in NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1931

  • Portraits of Women, Romanticism to Surrealism, Museum of French Art, New York, 1931, no. 28, as Portrait, Mlle P. de C..

  • A Group of Twentieth Century Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection, Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1931, no. 18, as Woman in Black.

  • Amedeo Modigliani: Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings, Demotte, Inc., New York, 1931, no. 18.

1933

  • Modigliani, Palais de Beaux Arts, Brussels, 1933, no. 77, repro.

1934

  • Modigliani, Kunsthalle, Basel, 1934, no. 67.

1943

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection, Art Institute of Chicago, 1943-1952 (extended loan), unnumbered catalogue, repro. p. 41

1952

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1952, no. 44, repro.

1965

  • The Chester Dale Bequest, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965, unnumbered checklist.

1983

  • Modigliani: An Anniversary Exhibition, J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1983-1984, unnumbered brochure [exhibited in Washington only].

Bibliography

1925

  • George, Waldemar. "Modigliani." L'Amour de l'art 6 (1925): 387, repro.

1943

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1943:, 41, repro.

1952

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1952 (2nd ed., 1960; rev. ed., 1965): 44, repro.

1960

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1960 (2nd ed.): 46, repro.

1965

  • Twentieth Century French Paintings & Sculpture of the French School in the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965 (rev. ed.): 57, repro.

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 92.

  • Ceroni, Ambrogio. Amedeo Modigliani: Dessins et Sculptures, avec suite du catalogue illustré des peintures. Milan, 1965: no. 210, repro.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 80, repro.

1970

  • Ceroni, Ambrogio, and Leone Piccioni. I dipinti di Modigliani. Milan, 1970: no. no. 232, repro.

  • Lanthemann, Joseph. Modigliani 1884-1920. Catalogue raisonné. Barcelona, 1970: 124, no. 247, repro.

1972

  • Ceroni, Ambrogio, and Françoise Cachin. Tout l'oeuvre peint de Modigliani. Translated by Simone Darses. Paris, 1972: no. 232, repro.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 238, repro.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 588, no. 903, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 275, repro.

1990

  • Parisot, Christian. Modigliani: Catalogue Raisonné. 2 vols. Livorno, 1990: 2:14/1918.

1991

  • Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 5, color repro.

Inscriptions

upper right: modigliani

Wikidata ID

Q20192151

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