Portrait of a Woman

Unknown owner, by June 21, 1951 [1];

Purchased from the unknown owner’s sale, Catalogue of Gold Snuff Boxes, Watches, Musical Boxes, Objects of Vertu and Fine Portrait Miniatures, Sotheby’s, London, June 21, 1951, lot 92, as A Lady, by Leggatt Brothers, London, probably on behalf of Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, 1951–1958 [2];

Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1958.

NOTES:

[1] “Various properties” sold lots 79–98.

[2] “A fine French miniature of a lady, by Pierre Adolphe Hall, signed and dated 1787, nearly full face, half-length, in white dress with blue ribbons and waistband against a woodland background, 2 1/4 in., in ormolu frame with chased borders and ribbon ties, 4 in.” According to an attached price list, Leggatt bought lot 92 for £28. Archival research has shown that Leggatt Brothers served as purchasing agents for the Starrs. See correspondence between Betty Hogg and Martha Jane Starr, May 15 and June 3, 1950, Nelson-Atkins curatorial files.