Mr. and Mrs. John Ulric Nef

he: 1899 - 1988; she: 1913 - 2009

Explore Selected Works

Marc Chagall, Houses at Vitebsk, 1917, oil on paper on canvas, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John U. Nef and Mr. and Mrs. William Wood Prince, 1973.7.1

Houses at Vitebsk

Marc Chagall · 1917 · oil on paper on canvas ·  Accession ID  1973.7.1

Henri Matisse, Odalisque in Red Satin Pantaloons (Odalisque à la culotte de satin rouge), 1925, lithograph on china paper, Gift of John and Evelyn Nef, 1986.94.3

Odalisque in Red Satin Pantaloons (Odalisque à la culotte de satin rouge)

Henri Matisse · 1925 · lithograph on china paper ·  Accession ID  1986.94.3

Created with tiny, colored stones and glass, this mosaic shows groups of people along and near the edge of a brilliant, topaz-blue body of water with a large, lemon-yellow, stylized sun in the sky in this horizontal composition. The aquamarine blue and vibrant yellow along with lime green, lilac purple, oyster white, and teal used in the people and landscape give this work a shimmering look. A pair of people recline together under a tree in the lower right corner. A sheep stands nearby, and a bird perches in the tree above. Beyond the tree and to our left, a cluster of box-like forms suggests a city in the distance. Larger in scale, so seeming closer to us, a man wearing a lapis-blue toga and a yellow cap holds a stringed instrument, a lyre, in front of his body. To the left, at the center of the composition, a trio of women each wearing amethyst-purple, magenta-pink, or lapis-blue dresses stand close to each other. They have long, dark hair and their bodies and garments are outlined in black. Between them and the large sun to our left, a winged horse with a buttercup-yellow body and turquoise-blue wings rears up. Near the upper left corner, the stylized sun is represented by a disk surrounded by pointed peaks, surrounded by a larger disk outlined with another ring of triangular points. A winged person holding a set of pan pipes flies above the sun to our left, over a small crescent moon below. Near the lower left corner, two groups of people gather around a body of bright blue water occupied by two fish. The artist signed and dated the work in the lower right corner: “MArC ChAgAll 69.” The mosaic is displayed outside in front of a screen of trees, with a band of bushes with green and orange leaves below.
Marc Chagall, Orphée, 1969, stone and glass mosaic, The John U. and Evelyn S. Nef Collection, 2011.60.104.1-10

Orphée

Marc Chagall · 1969 · stone and glass mosaic ·  Accession ID  2011.60.104.1-10

Henri Matisse, Little Aurore (Petite Aurore), 1923, lithograph on china paper, Gift of John and Evelyn Nef, 1986.94.2

Little Aurore (Petite Aurore)

Henri Matisse · 1923 · lithograph on china paper ·  Accession ID  1986.94.2

Henri Matisse, Young Girl in Flowered Dress with Organdy Collar (Jeune fille en robe fleurie au col d'organdi), 1923, lithograph on china paper, Gift of John and Evelyn Nef, 1986.94.1

Young Girl in Flowered Dress with Organdy Collar (Jeune fille en robe fleurie au col d'organdi)

Henri Matisse · 1923 · lithograph on china paper ·  Accession ID  1986.94.1