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Created by Gwen John (1876–1939), the artist; bequest to her nephew, Edwin John (1905–1978) [1][a]; assigned to Matthiesen Gallery Ltd., London, 1940 [2]; assigned to Faerber and Maison, London, 1963 [3]; acquired by Maynard Walker Gallery, New York, 1964 [4][b]; purchased by Paul Mellon (1907–1999), 1961 [c]; by whom given to the Yale Center for British Art, 1993.

Notes:
[1] After Gwen John's death in 1939, her nephew, Edwin John (1905–1978), traveled to Meudon, retrieved her remaining works from her Rue Terre Neuve home, and brought them back to England. The fourth son of artist Augustus John (1878–1961), Edwin followed the artistic paths of both his father and aunt, becoming a watercolorist. He maintained a close relationship with his aunt until her death and was the sole executor of her estate.

[2] In August 1940, Matthiesen Gallery held a memorial exhibition of John’s paintings and drawings at Wildenstein & Co., London. This exhibition marks the beginning of Matthiesen Gallery’s representation of the Gwen John Estate.

[3] Following the Mattieson Gallery’s closure in 1963, former associate Stefanie Maison represented the Gwen John Estate as Faerber and Maison until 1973, and, thereafter, under her own name.

[4] Maynard Walker (1896 –1985) was an American art dealer and collector who established the Maynard Walker Gallery in New York around 1935. Walker likely purchased this painting following Faerber and Maison’s 1964 Gwen John exhibition held from November 13 to December 12, 1964. The painting was listed as no. 10 in the exhibition catalog.

Citations:
[a] Cecily Langdale, Gwen John: With a Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings and a Selection of the Drawings (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1987): 121.

[b] Ibid.

[c] Ibid.