Vase of Flowers

Probably Andries Bonger (1861–1936), Aerdenhout, The Netherlands, by December 1, 1920 [1];

Acquired from Bonger through purchase or exchange by Léonard-L.-Maurice-G. de Selliers de Moranville (1853–1946), Ostend, Belgium, by January 20, 1936–no later than February 5, 1946 [2];

By descent to his grandson, Raoul-Léonard-Émile Bernard de Selliers de Moranville (b. 1942), Liège, Belgium, by February 5, 1946–1972 [3];

Purchased from the latter through Dehon, Schaerbeek, Belgium, by Baroness Giaconia, Palermo, Italy, 1972 [4];

With Andrée Stassart, Paris, by October 23, 1975–February 15, 1976 [5];

Purchased from Stassart by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1976.

Notes:

[1] For the date of acquisition, see the Galerie Georges Giroux, Bulletin de Dépôt, December 1, 1920, NAMA curatorial files, which acknowledges the receipt of four works from “Monsieur Bonger, Haarlem” for the Exposition rétrospective d’Odilon Redon, Galerie Georges Giroux, Brussels, December 18, 1920–January 8, 1921. The second work listed (no. 49, Vase fleuri, pastel) is believed to be the Nelson-Atkins still life, although other scholars have previously identified no. 49 as Wildenstein cat. 1474 or 1512; see Alec Wildenstein and Marie-Christine Decroocq, Odilon Redon: Catalogue raisonné de l’œuvre peint et dessiné, vol. 4, Études et grandes décorations; Supplément (Paris: Wildenstein Institute, 1998), 342.

Vase of Flowers does not appear in Andries Bonger’s insurance inventories of his collection, which are housed at the Bonger Archive, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam; see emails from Fred Leeman, independent art historian, to Brigid M. Boyle, NAMA, October 26, 2020 and January 28, 2021, NAMA curatorial files. Leeman notes that Redon’s widow, Camille Redon (née Falte, 1853–1923) actively organized exhibitions and sales of her late husband’s work during the 1920s, and he speculates that Bonger could have acted as an intermediary in her sale of Vase of Flowers, which could explain its absence from the Bonger Archive. We have not been able to corroborate this suggestion, however.

A verso inscription on the Nelson-Atkins pastel reads: “O. Redon / M. Bonger Coll.”

[2] Selliers de Moranville was an artist, musician, and civil engineer; see Norbert Hostyn, “Vergeten Oostendse kunstschilders: Léonard de Selliers de Moranville,” De Plate 10, no. 12 (December 1981): 243. He and Bonger were supposedly close friends; see statement of certification from Raoul-Léonard-Émile Bernard de Selliers de Moranville, grandson of Léonard-L.-Maurice-G. de Selliers de Moranville, April 27, 1974, NAMA curatorial files. It is unknown precisely when Selliers de Moranville acquired Vase of Flowers, but he must have done so prior to Bonger’s death on January 20, 1936.

[3] Raoul-Léonard-Émile Bernard de Selliers de Moranville was only four years old when his grandfather passed away on February 5, 1946, so he is unsure exactly when the latter bequeathed the pastel to him. Raoul does not believe that his father, Maurice-Jules-Léonard de Selliers de Moranville (1911–1947), who died prematurely of typhus, ever owned the pastel. See emails from Raoul-Léonard-Émile Bernard de Selliers de Moranville to Brigid M. Boyle, NAMA, December 27 and 29, 2020, NAMA curatorial files.

[4] Raoul-Léonard-Émile Bernard de Selliers de Moranville cannot recall the first names of either Dehon, whom he described as an “expert en œuvre d’art,” or Baroness Giaconia; see email to Brigid M. Boyle, NAMA, December 29, 2020, NAMA curatorial files.

[5] Andrée Stassart (b. 1925) and her husband, Alexander N. Donskoy, were both dealers active in Paris. The pastel was in Stassart’s possession by autumn 1975; see letter from Ralph T. Coe, NAMA, to Andrée Stassart, October 23, 1975, NAMA curatorial files. She may have acquired it as early as April 27, 1974, the date that Klaus Berger (1901–2000), a retired art historian living in Paris, certified its authenticity, possibly at her request; see statement of certification by Klaus Berger, April 27, 1974, NAMA curatorial files.

The Nelson-Atkins paid for the purchase in two installments, the second of which was delivered on February 15, 1976; see letter from Andrée Stassart to Ralph T. Coe, NAMA, January 17, 1976, NAMA curatorial files.