Carl Schleicher

Details

Robert Henri (1865-1929)
Carl Schleicher
signed 'Robert Henri' (lower left)--inscribed twice 'Car' (along the tacking edge)
oil on canvas
24 x 20 in. (61 x 50.8 cm.)
Painted in 1921.

Provenance

Alfredo Valente Gallery, New York, circa 1975.
Joe Kieffer, New York, acquired from the above.
[With]Richard York Gallery, New York.
Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1989.

Literature

New York Cultural Center in association with Farleigh Dickinson University, Robert Henri: Painter--Teacher--Prophet, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1969, pp. 85, 107, pl. 91, illustrated (as Carl).
V.A. Leeds, My People: The Portraits of Robert Henri, Orlando, Florida, 1994, p. 39, pl. 51, illustrated.
V.A. Leeds, An American Palette: Works from the Collection of John and Dolores Beck, St. Petersburg, Florida, 2000, pp. 15, 68-69, illustrated.
V.A. Leeds, Robert Henri: The Painted Spirit, exhibition catalogue, New York, 2005, pp. 27, 75, 110, pl. 25, illustrated.

Exhibited

New York, New York Cultural Center, and elsewhere, Robert Henri: Painter--Teacher--Prophet, October 14-December 14, 1969 (as Carl).
Orlando, Florida, Orlando Museum of Art, and elsewhere, "My People": The Portraits of Robert Henri, October 22, 1994-January 8, 1995, no. 51.
Winter Park, Florida, Rollins College, Cornell Fine Arts Museum, The Independents: The Ashcan Achool & Their Circle from Florida Collections, March 9-May 5, 1996.
St. Petersburg, Florida, Museum of Fine Arts, and elsewhere, An American Palette: Works from the Collection of John and Dolores Beck, November 12, 2000-January 14, 2001.
New York, Gerald Peters Gallery, Robert Henri: The Painted Spirit, October 27-December 10, 2005.
Orlando, Florida, Orlando Museum of Art, Paths to Impressionism: Local Collections, August 26-October 29, 2006, no. 51.

Lot Essay

The Schleicher family was Robert Henri's favorite source for subjects during his summer spent in Woodstock, New York, in 1921. Indeed, he painted nine versions of the youngest, Karl, whose name Henri mispelled "Carl." In a letter to a friend, Henri explained his fascination with this particular child:
"Here I am painting principally children. There is a good crop of them available and some are excellent. The one I had today is a wonder--a little gnome of two and a half--and I think I landed a good one. This is perhaps the reason that I have felt the power to sit down and write. The youngster has light blond hair, dark brown eyes, a jumper of fine gray blue purple with a deep red edging, a white shirt in excellent tone with the rest...I know you would like the youngster and I believe you would like the painting." (as quoted in V.A. Leeds, Robert Henri: The Painted Spirit, New York, 2005, p. 27)
The sixth in Henri's series of Carl portraits, Carl Schleicher is a striking example of the artist's mature style honed to its best.

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