Provenance

Sam Salz

American, born Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Poland) 1894 - 1981

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See all 21 works of art
A young woman with pale, peachy skin and flushed cheeks sits facing our right in profile as she plays a guitar in this horizontal painting. The scene is painted with blended strokes, giving it a soft look and making some of the details indistinct. At the center of the composition, the guitar rests against the woman’s shoulder so it almost spans the width of the painting. The instrument has a caramel-brown body, and the dark brown neck lightens to slate gray by the sound hole. The woman’s eyes are lowered as she looks toward her left hand, her long fingers pinning the strings along the fretboard. She plucks the strings with her other hand. Her hair is covered in a red headscarf tied at the nape of her neck. One end rests on her left shoulder, farther from us, and the other hangs down her back. A low, flat-topped, black, brimmed hat sits atop the scarf. The woman’s features are delicate, and her pink lips are parted. She wears a gold chain with an oval pendant around her neck. Her jacket is gold with a pattern loosely painted with dabs of lapis blue, butter yellow, and rose pink. A yellow ribbon or band is tied to the neck of the guitar and slung over her shoulder. The indistinct space behind her is painted with strokes of moss green, goldenrod yellow, and a few swipes of marigold orange near her face. The artist signed and dated the painting in brown in the lower right corner: “Renoir.98.”
Auguste Renoir, Young Spanish Woman with a Guitar, 1898, oil on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.76

Young Spanish Woman with a Guitar

Auguste Renoir · 1898 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1970.17.76

An arched bridge faintly materializes in a haze of soft turquoise blue and mint green in this horizontal landscape painting. The bridge has four arches under a flat deck, and it extends off each side of the canvas. Running across the middle of the composition, it angles slightly away from us to our right. The bridge is painted in strokes of slate blue and muted lavender purple, with darker shades on the shadowed undersides of the arches. Touches of rose pink and white along the deck suggest lights moving across the bridge. The water below is sky blue and seafoam green. A few vertical swipes of teal blue in the background suggest towers or tall buildings in the distance on the opposite shore. The sky above is painted with long strokes of lime green and robin’s egg blue. The artist signed the painting with cobalt blue in the lower right corner, “Claude Monet.”
Claude Monet, Waterloo Bridge, London, at Dusk, 1904, oil on canvas, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1983.1.27

Waterloo Bridge, London, at Dusk

Claude Monet · 1904 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1983.1.27

A bank of flowering bushes, possibly roses, fills most of an enclosed garden in front of a white house in this horizontal landscape painting. The scene is created using visible dabs and strokes of scarlet red, pale yellow, rust orange, and shell pink for the roses and kelly, teal, and forest green for the greenery. The cloud of flowers fills most of the left two-thirds of the composition, and dabs of shamrock and moss green and delphinium blue indicate grass and other plants around it. To our right of the roses, a couple walks near a fence in the distance. Painted with only a few strokes and touches of paint, one person wears a white dress and hat, and the other a dark gray suit and hat. A celery-green tree grows up the right edge of the canvas and curves toward the ivory-white, three-story house. The upper story is tucked under a pitched, ash-brown roof, and aquamarine-blue shutters flank the windows. More trees surround the house and line the fence. Brushstrokes in white and nickel gray suggest clouds against the ultramarine-blue sky. The artist signed and dated the painting in black near the lower left corner: “Claude Monet 73.”
Claude Monet, The Artist's Garden in Argenteuil (A Corner of the Garden with Dahlias), 1873, oil on canvas, Gift of Janice H. Levin, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1991.27.1

The Artist's Garden in Argenteuil (A Corner of the Garden with Dahlias)

Claude Monet · 1873 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1991.27.1

A tree with emerald-green leaves and laden with white blossoms grows in a dirt field, and is silhouetted against a vibrant blue sky in this horizontal landscape painting. The scene is loosely painted with visible dabs and strokes. The tree takes up most of the left half of the painting, and is closest to us. It casts a dappled shadow onto the ground to our right. A barren tree with gnarled branches grows nearby, in the tree’s shadow. A row of more trees extends in the distance to our right. A narrow dirt path, bordered by low green growth, stretches from the bottom edge of the canvas, to our right of center, into the field. To our left and farther from us, a woman leans over and reaches for the ground. She faces our left in profile and wears a white bonnet, a brown shawl, and a blue skirt. Near the line of trees to our right, a man walks toward the woman. He wears blue pants, a white shirt, a dark cap, and he carries a tan bag over his left shoulder. There are more trees along the horizon, which comes about a third of the way up the composition. The sky above is light gray near the horizon and deepens to vivid blue with fluffy white clouds. The painting is signed and dated in the lower right: “C. Pissarro 1872.”
Camille Pissarro, Orchard in Bloom, Louveciennes, 1872, oil on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.51

Orchard in Bloom, Louveciennes

Camille Pissarro · 1872 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1970.17.51

We look across a river at a bridge that spans the center of this horizontal landscape, which is painted entirely with broad, visible brushstrokes in pastel colors. The straight deck of the bridge crosses the center of the composition but angles slightly away from us as it moves to our right. The four low arches of the bridge are painted with cotton candy pink and pale apricot. The sky above is painted loosely with light aquamarine blue and watery turquoise. A few vertical strokes of paint over the bridge suggests buildings along the riverbank beyond. The bridge is reflected in the water below so the blue, green, orange, and pink swirl together. The artist signed the painting in violet-purple letters in the lower right corner: “Claude Monet.”
Claude Monet, Waterloo Bridge, London, at Sunset, 1904, oil on canvas, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1983.1.28

Waterloo Bridge, London, at Sunset

Claude Monet · 1904 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1983.1.28

A pale turquoise footbridge arching over a pond lined with tall grasses and filled with petal-pink and butter-yellow waterlilies spans this horizontal landscape painting. The scene is loosely painted with touches of vibrant color. In the top third of the composition, the shallowly arched bridge nearly touches the top edge of the canvas, and it extends off each side. The shadows on the bridge are painted with eggplant purple. Bands of waterlilies gently zigzag into the distance on the surface of the water. The spring and emerald-green grasses growing along the banks fill the space around and over the pond, and they blend into a screen of trees beyond that enclose the scene. The green of the grasses and trees is reflected in the surface of the water, as is the underside of the bridge. The artist signed and dated the work with dark paint in the lower right corner: “Claude Monet 99.”
Claude Monet, The Japanese Footbridge, 1899, oil on canvas, Gift of Victoria Nebeker Coberly, in memory of her son John W. Mudd, and Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg, 1992.9.1

The Japanese Footbridge

Claude Monet · 1899 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1992.9.1

This painting depicts a game being played on a grassy field. The game is taking place in the central green lawn, with buildings in the distance surrounded by trees. On the lawn are several distant people, with some standing and some running, although the details are hard to make out. The scene has been created using small dots of paint, making everything look slightly blurred. The sky at the top of the painting is light blue with some large white clouds.
Camille Pissarro, Hampton Court Green, 1891, oil on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.53

Hampton Court Green

Camille Pissarro · 1891 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1970.17.53

The painting shows a coastal landscape from an elevated point of view. A structure resembling a thatched-roof cottage is on the right, partially obscured by the rolling green hills that take up the bottom right area of the painting. On the hills there is a thin dirt path and a line of gray stones leading to the cottage. The land slopes down to the water on the left, where the grassy hills become a reddish-brown color that transitions into light yellow sand. The water is light green by the coast, with darker blue water in the background. The sky is light blue with white clouds. The brushstrokes are visible and textured.
Henri Moret, The Island of Raguenez, Brittany, 1890/1895, oil on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.46

The Island of Raguenez, Brittany

Henri Moret · 1890/1895 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1970.17.46

The sculpture portrays an abstract human torso from the back view, emphasizing the curve of the spine, buttocks, and legs. It is made of dark wood with a rich brown color and subtle variations in grain. The sculpture stands on a square, light-colored stone or concrete base. Its tall, elongated form simplifies and stylizes the human figure without detailed features or appendages. The polished wood contrasts with the matte base, highlighting the sculpture's organic lines and silhouette.
Ossip Zadkine, Torso, 1963, ebony, Gift (Partial and Promised) of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan L. Halpern, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1991.53.2

Torso

Ossip Zadkine · 1963 · ebony ·  Accession ID  1991.53.2

A bouquet of about a dozen ruffled, frilly, pink flowers in a white pitcher painted with blue undertones nearly fills this vertical still-life composition. Brushstrokes are loose throughout so many details are difficult to make out. The bouquet sits right of center atop a table layered with brick red, pumpkin orange, marigold yellow, and ivory white patterned cloths. The background is especially loosely painted with strokes of celestial blue, teal green, burnt orange, and ash brown. Some upright brown strokes could represent the back of a wood chair. The artist signed the work in the lower right corner, “Bonnard.”
Pierre Bonnard, Bouquet of Flowers, c. 1926, oil on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.9

Bouquet of Flowers

Pierre Bonnard · c. 1926 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1970.17.9

Bibliography

1974

  • Esterow, Martin. "The very special world of Sam Salz." Art News 73 (May 1974):36-40

1976

  • Fabiani, Martin. Quand j'etais marchand de tableaux. Paris, c. 1976:76-77, 81

1989

  • Les Donateurs du Louvre. Paris, 1989:315