Trouville, Beach Scene
Framed: 13 3/8 x 21 1/2 x 1 5/8 inches (33.97 x 54.61 x 4.13 cm)
- 127
Magnificent Gifts for the 75th, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, February 13–April 4, 2010, no cat.
A group of elegantly dressed tourists relax on the beach at Trouville on the Normandy coast. Beach scenes such as this were commercially successful for Eugène Boudin. His attitude toward his subjects, however, appears to have been ambivalent. On one occasion, he even described such gatherings of tourists as a “frightful masquerade.” Boudin chose to paint his outdoor scenes on small wood panels, which were more suited to the windy conditions of the beach. Lighter canvases tended to bend with the strong breeze.
Given to his granddaughter, Emma Jarry (née Marchand, 1888–1982), Paris, October 26, 1909–no later than April 7, 1982 [2];
By descent to her daughter, Madeleine-Françoise Jarry (1917–1982), Paris, by April 7, 1982–June 29, 1982 [3];
Inherited by her brother, Pierre Jarry (1913–1999), Paris, June 29, 1982–November 27, 1984 [4];
Purchased from Jarry by Adolphe Stein, Paris, on joint account with Richard Green, London, stock no. RH 594, November 27, 1984–February 1985 [5];
Half-share purchased from Adolphe Stein by Richard Green, February 1985–November 13, 1985 [6];
Purchased from Richard Green by Marion (née Helzberg, 1931–2013) and Henry (1922–2019) Bloch, Shawnee Mission, KS, November 13, 1985–June 15, 2015;
Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2015.
NOTES:
[1] Boudin sold or gifted the painting to Bullier at an unknown date, but certainly before his death in 1898. The owner of a famous Parisian dance hall, Bullier had a wide circle of acquaintances that included many artists. See email from Bruno Jarry, great-great-grandson of Jean Théodore Elie Bullier, to Brigid M. Boyle, NAMA, December 29, 2020, NAMA curatorial files.
[2] Jean Théodore Elie Bullier’s daughter, Ernestine Françoise Bullier (1866–1942), married Gustave Honoré-Léon Raoul Marchand (1875–1935) on July 4, 1887. Their daughter, Emma Marchand, received the painting as a wedding gift from her grandfather when she married Paul Jarry (1883–1934) on October 26, 1909, three weeks before her grandfather’s death. See emails from Bruno Jarry to Brigid M. Boyle, NAMA, December 29, 2020 and January 25, 2021, NAMA curatorial files.
[3] It is unclear precisely when Emma Jarry bequeathed Trouville, Beach Scene to her daughter, but she did so prior to her death on April 7, 1982. The two women shared an apartment in Paris beginning in 1946, and the painting remained on view in their salon until Madeleine-Françoise Jarry’s death on June 29, 1982, only a few months after her mother’s passing. See emails from Bruno Jarry to Brigid M. Boyle, NAMA, December 29, 2020 and January 25, 2021, NAMA curatorial files.
[4] Pierre Jarry, a resident of Marseille, inherited his sister’s apartment and belongings, including Trouville, Beach Scene, upon her death. The painting remained in Paris until its sale in 1984. See email from Bruno Jarry to Brigid M. Boyle, NAMA, January 25, 2021, NAMA curatorial files.
[5] Jarry received payment for the painting on November 27, 1984, but it took several months for the export license to receive approval. See email from Bruno Jarry to Brigid M. Boyle, NAMA, December 29, 2020, and letter from M. Jacot, International Art Transport, to Pierre Jarry, July 10, 1985, NAMA curatorial files. Richard Green stock number from verso label.
[6] For the purchase date of February 1985, see email from Penny Marks, Richard Green, to MacKenzie Mallon, NAMA, April 21, 2015, NAMA curatorial files.
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Brigid M. Boyle, “Eugène Boudin, The Beach, ca. 1865, and Trouville, Beach Scene, 1874,” catalogue entry, and Diana M. Jaskierny, “Eugène Boudin, Trouville, Beach Scene, 1874,” technical entry in Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, ed., French Paintings, 1600–1945: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2021), https://doi.org/10.37764/78973.5.603.
