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THE PERSONAL COLLECTION OF BARBARA LAMBRECHT, SOLD TO BENEFIT THE RUBENS PRIZE COLLECTION IN THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN SIEGENChristie’s is honoured to offer the following selection of works from the personal collection of the esteemed philanthropist and patron of the arts, Barbara Lambrecht. Assembled over the course of nearly four decades, Ms Lambrecht’s collection features works by a diverse range of artists, from early compositions by the great painters of Impressionism, to the refined techniques of the Pointillists, and the free, expressionist colours of the Fauves. In this way, the collection offers an intriguing insight into one of the most dynamic and exciting periods of the European artistic avant-garde. Ms Lambrecht’s collecting journey began in the 1970s, when an early interest in Impressionism encouraged her to purchase paintings by Eugène Boudin, Raoul Dufy and Berthe Morisot. From here, her treasured collection has grown and evolved to encompass works by some of the most influential artists of the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries, including Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee. This highly personal collection, shaped by Ms Lambrecht’s discerning vision and keen knowledge of art history, has filled the walls of the collector’s home for the past forty years. Considered together, the works reveal a series of intriguing connections to one another, their similarities and differences causing a dynamic dialogue to develop between each of the individual works in the collection. This is evident, for example, when Dufy’s portrayal of the northern coast of France is considered alongside Boudin’s painting of the same subject, or the contrasting painterly techniques of Monet’s loose, spontaneous compositions are observed beside Kees van Dongen’s highly saturated, impastoed areas of colour. One of the most striking features of the collection is the way in which the collection focuses on the pivotal periods in each artist’s career, often highlighting on a moment of transition as they begin to explore new, ground breaking techniques, subject matter or styles. Ms Lambrecht’s dedication to collecting has been paralleled by a prodigious journey in cultural philanthropy and patronage, as her passion for the arts has driven her to support a number of institutions in her native Siegen. Through her generous support, these bodies have become leaders in their respective fields, from the Philharmonic Orchestra Südwestfalen, to the city’s Apollo Theatre. Amongst her most remarkable and enduring charitable projects is her commitment to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Siegen, and her promotion of the Peter Paul Rubens Prize. Founded in 1955, the same year as the documenta in Kassel, this highly acclaimed international award is presented every five years to a contemporary artist living in Europe, to honour his or her lifetime achievements in art. Presented in remembrance of Peter Paul Rubens, who was born in Siegen, previous recipients include Giorgio Morandi, Francis Bacon, Antoni Tápies, Cy Twombly, Sigmar Polke, Lucian Freud, Maria Lassnig and Bridget Riley. To support the award, Ms Lambrecht founded the Rubens Prize Collection, acquiring comprehensive and exemplary groups of important paintings, sculptures and graphic pieces by each of the award’s former laureates, and then placing them on permanent loan to the Museum. Conceptually, the collection has been carefully curated so as to include works from each artist’s various creative phases, and continues to grow as it gathers examples from each new recipient of the prize. Creating an impressive survey of twentieth- and early twenty-first-century European art, from the quiet still-lifes of Morandi, and Riley’s iconic explorations of line and colour, to Bacon's emotionally charged figurative paintings and Maria Lassnig’s self-exploration of the human body, the Rubens Prize Collection offers visitors to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Siegen an in-depth look into the work of the acclaimed artists honoured by the city. With the sale of this outstanding group of impressionist and early modernist works, Ms Lambrecht plans to ensure the continued growth and evolution of the Rubens Prize Collection, and to secure its future for the enjoyment of subsequent generations in Siegen and throughout Europe.

Henri Matisse (1869-1954)

Tête de femme

Details

Henri Matisse (1869-1954)
Tête de femme
signed and dated 'Henri Matisse 35' (lower left)
pencil on paper
9 7/8 x 12 3/4 in. (24.9 x 32.3 cm.)
Drawn in 1935

Provenance

Leicester Galleries, London, by 1936.
Kenneth Graham, London, by whom acquired from the above.
Galerie de France, Paris, by 1967.
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York (no. HA 6562).
Galerie Hopkins-Thomas, Paris.
Atelier Saint-Honoré, Paris.
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1995.

Literature

C. Zervos, Cahiers d'art: Dessins de Matisse, vol. II, Paris, 1936, Nr. 3-5, p. 79.
A. Romm, Henri Matisse, Moscow, 1937 (illustrated on the front cover).
J. Cassou, Paintings and drawings of Matisse, Paris, 1939 (illustrated on a frontispiece).
G. Testori, Henri Matisse, 25 disegni, Milan, 1943 (illustrated on a frontispiece).
A. Humbert, Matisse Dessins, Paris, 1956 pl. 6
R. Escholier, Matisse ce vivant, Paris, 1956, p. 147.
R. Escholier, Matisse From the Life, Paris, 1964, p. 176.
C. Zervos, Dessins de Henri-Matisse, Paris, 1992 (illustrated on a frontispiece). à should say : Cahiers d’art, Dessins de Matisse, Paris, 1992 (illustrated on a frontispiece).
C. Zervos, Cahier d'art: Henri Matisse, Drawings 1936: A facsimile edition, New York, 2005 (illustrated).

Exhibited

London, Leicester Galleries, Six French painters: Bonnard, Segonzac, Henri-Matisse, Utrillo, Paul Maze, Vuillard, December 1936, no. 53.
Rotterdam, Museum Boymans, Matisse, April - June 1954 (illustrated on the frontispiece).
New York, Albert Lœb & Krugier Gallery Inc., Matisse Drawings, November 1967, no. 16 (illustrated).

Special Notice

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.

Sale Room Notice

Please note the additional provenance and literature for this lot on Christies.com.

Brought to you by

Jessica Brook

jbrook@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2742

Lot Essay

Wanda de Guébriant has confirmed the authenticity of this work.

It has been suggested that the subject of this portrait is Lydia Delectorskaya. Delectorskaya was originally hired in 1934 as a companion to the ailing Mme Matisse, but before long began to pose for the artist, as seen in the present lot, executed just a year later. Lydia was physically different from all of Matisse's former models - she had long golden hair, pale white skin, and bright blue eyes. With her highly refined features and colouring, Matisse referred to her as an ice princess; but their relationship was anything but cool. Their close working conditions, or perhaps speculations of adultery, prompted the end of Matisse's marriage. After Matisse and his wife's legal separation in 1939, she returned to live with the artist permanently, as his model, secretary and, eventually, as his caretaker. While Matisse drew numerous portraits of Lydia, this strikingly intimate version has become a particularly recognisable and enduring image, featured prominently on several occasions for publications on the artist, and exhibition catalogues.

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