The Lock of Saint-Mammès
Framed: 24 1/2 x 31 1/2 x 2 inches (62.23 x 80.01 x 5.08 cm)
- 127
Loan Exhibition of Paintings from Collections of Associate Members, The New School for Social Research, New York, March 3–17, 1946, no. 41, as Ecluses a Saint Mammes [sic].
New York Collects, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, July 3–September 2, 1968, no. 202, as The Lock at Saint-Mammes [sic].
Manet to Matisse: Impressionist Masters from the Marion and Henry Bloch Collection, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, June 9–September 9, 2007, no. 11, as The Lock of Saint-Mammès (L’écluse de Saint-Mammès).
Alfred Sisley produced a significant series of paintings dedicated to the constant flow of river traffic near Saint-Mammès, a town southeast of Paris. Here, the subject is the energy and movement of the riverfront, which is matched in intensity by the bright palette and quivering brushstrokes that evoke light reflecting off water. Sisley’s scene captures the forces of modern commerce and industry that rapidly transformed France’s countryside in the mid- and late 1800s.
Purchased from the artist by Galeries Durand-Ruel, Paris, stock no. 774, as
L’Écluse de St. Mammès, December 22, 1885–August 1888 [1];Transferred from Galeries Durand-Ruel, Paris, to Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York, August 1888 [2];
Erwin Davis (1831–1903), New York, by April 14, 1899;
Purchased from Salz by Mr. George S. Gregory (né Grisha Josefowitz, 1895–1983) and Mrs. Elizabeth "Lydia" Gregory (née Sliosberg, 1905–1978), New York, 1943–March 5, 1983 [5];
By descent to their son, Alexis Gregory (1936–2020), New York, 1983–September 30, 1994;
Purchased from Gregory by Richard L. Feigen and Co., New York, stock no. 19627-D, as Le Loing à Saint-Mammès (The River Loing at Saint-Mammès), September 30–November 8, 1994 [6];
Purchased from Feigen by Marion (née Helzberg, 1931–2013) and Henry (1922–2019) Bloch, Shawnee Mission, KS, 1994–June 15, 2015;
Their gift to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2015.
NOTES:
[1] See emails from Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel et Cie., Paris, to Brigid M. Boyle, NAMA, April 6 and 19, 2022, NAMA curatorial files. A consular invoice on the painting’s stretcher indicates that The Lock of Saint-Mammès was shipped from Paris to New York on April 11, 1888. Durand-Ruel officially transferred ownership of the painting to its New York branch in August 1888.
[2] Durand-Ruel’s stock books do not record when or to whom stock no. 774 was sold. See email from Paul-Louis and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel et Cie., Paris, to Nicole Myers, NAMA, January 11, 2016, NAMA curatorial files.
[3] For the purchase date, sale date, and stock number, see email from Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel et Cie., Paris, to Nicole Myers, NAMA, January 11, 2016, NAMA curatorial files. The stock number is corroborated by a Durand-Ruel paper label on the stretcher and a Durand-Ruel photo stock card, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Photo Archives, no. A177.
[4] Durand-Ruel recorded the purchase date as February 1, 1943, while Sam Salz recorded it as February 2, 1943; we have adopted the former. Salz recorded the sale date as March 22, 1943. See email from Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel et Cie., Paris, to Nicole Myers, NAMA, January 11, 2016, NAMA curatorial files; and Inventory Book, 1940–1944, pages 38 and 123, Sam Salz Archive, Department of Image Collections, National Gallery of Art Library, Washington, DC, Gift of Marc Salz in memory of his father Sam Salz.
[5]
When George S. Gregory passed away on March 5, 1983, his son Alexis Gregory inherited The Lock of Saint-Mammès. Verbal communication from Peter Gregory, younger brother of Alexis Gregory, to Brigid M. Boyle, NAMA, March 21, 2022; see notes in NAMA curatorial files.[6] For the purchase date of September 30, 1994, see email from Cynthia Conti, Richard L. Feigen and Co., to Brigid M. Boyle, NAMA, March 18, 2022, NAMA curatorial files. For the sale date of November 8, 1994, see Richard L. Feigen and Co. invoice, NAMA curatorial files. For the stock number, see paper label from Richard L. Feigen and Co. on the painting’s backing board.
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Howard Devree, "New School Gives Exhibition of Art," New York Times 95, no. 32,182 (March 5, 1946): 22.
François Daulte, Alfred Sisley: Catalogue raisonné de l’œuvre peint (Lausanne: Éditions Durand-Ruel, 1959), no. 605, pp. 345, 351, 353, 358, (repro.), as l’Ècluse de Saint-Mammès.
H[endrik] R[ichard]
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poète de l’impressionnisme, exh. cat. (Paris: Réunion des musées nationaux, 2002), 89, 354, 357n16.Rebecca Dimling Cochran and Bobbie Leigh, "100 Top Collectors who have made a difference," Art and Antiques 28, no. 3 (March 2006): 90.
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http://arttattl.ipower.com/archivemagnificentgifts.html.Alice Thorson, "Blochs add to Nelson treasures," Kansas City Star 130, no. 141 (February 5, 2010): A1, A8.
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"Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art officially accessions Bloch Impressionist masterpieces," Artdaily.org (July 25, 2015):
http://artdaily.com/news/80246/Nelson-Atkins-Museum-of-Art-officially-accessions-Bloch-Impressionist-masterpieces.Julie Paulais, "Le Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art reçoit des tableaux impressionnistes en échange de leurs répliques," Le Journal des arts (July 30, 2015):
https://www.lejournaldesarts.fr/patrimoine/le-nelson-atkins-museum-art-recoit-des-tableaux-impressionnistes-en-echange-de-leurs.Josh Niland, "The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Acquires a Renowned Collection of Impressionist and Postimpressionist Art," architecturaldigest.com (July 31, 2015):
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/nelson-atkins-museum-accessions-bloch-art-collection.Nancy Staab, "Van Gogh is a Go!" 435: Kansas City’s Magazine (September 2015): 76.
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http://artdaily.com/news/88852/Nelson-Atkins-to-unveil-renovated-Bloch-Galleries-of-European-Art-in-winter-2017-.Diane Stafford, "What you may not know about Henry Bloch," Spirit (September 23, 2016):
http://www.kansascity.com/living/spirit/article102669387.html [repr., Diane Stafford, "What’s less known about Henry Bloch," Kansas City Star 137, no. 8 (September 25, 2016): 1E, 6E.]"Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art celebrates generosity of Henry Bloch with new acquisition," Artdaily.org (October 18, 2016):
https://artdaily.cc/news/90923/Nelson-Atkins-Museum-of-Art-celebrates-generosity-of-Henry-Bloch-with-new-acquisition#.XnKATqhKiUk.Catherine Futter et al., Bloch Galleries: Highlights from the Collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2016), 77, (repro.), as The Lock of Saint-Mammès.
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http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article137040948.html [repr., in "Thank you, Henry and Marion Bloch," Kansas City Star 137, no. 172 (March 8, 2017): 16A].Hampton Stevens, "(Not Actually) 12 Things To Do During The Big 12 Tournament," Flatland: KCPT’s Digital Magazine (March 9, 2017): http://www.flatlandkc.org/arts-culture/sports/not-actually-12-big-12-tournament/.
Laura Spencer, "The Nelson-Atkins’ Bloch Galleries Feature Old Masterworks and New Technology," KCUR (March 10, 2017): http://kcur.org/post/nelson-atkins-bloch-galleries-feature-old-masterworks-and-new-technology#stream/0, (repro.), as The Lock of Saint-Mammes [sic].
Victoria Stapley-Brown, "Nelson-Atkins Museum’s new European art galleries come with a ‘love story,’" Art Newspaper (March 10, 2017): http://theartnewspaper.com/news/museums/nelson-atkins-museum-s-new-european-art-galleries-come-with-a-love-story/.
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http://forward.com/culture/365264/jewish-philanthropist-establishes-kansas-city-as-cultural-mecca/ [repr., in Menachem Wecker, "Kansas City Collection Is A Chip Off the Old Bloch," Forward (March 17, 2017): 20–22].Juliet Helmke, "The Bloch Collection Takes up Residence in Kansas City’s Nelson Atkins Museum," Blouin ArtInfo International (March 15, 2017): http://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/2005267/the-bloch-collection-takes-up-residence-in-kansas-citys.
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https://www3.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2019/04/23/henry-bloch-block-cofounder/?arc404=true.Robert D. Hershey Jr., "
Henry W. Bloch, Tax-Preparation Pioneer (and Pitchman), Is Dead at 96," New York Times (April 23, 2019): https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/23/obituaries/henry-w-bloch-dead.html.Megan McDonough, "Henry Bloch, whose H&R Block became world’s largest tax-services provider, dies at 96," Washington Post (April 23, 2019):
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/henry-bloch-whose-handr-block-became-worlds-largest-tax-services-provider-dies-at-96/2019/04/23/19e95a90-65f8-11e9-a1b6-b29b90efa879_story.html.Claire Selvin, "
Henry Wollman Bloch, Collector and Prominent Benefactor of Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Is Dead at 96," ArtNews (April 23, 2019): http://www.artnews.com/2019/04/23/henry-bloch-dead-96/.Eric Adler and Joyce Smith, "Henry Bloch, co-founder of H&R Block, dies at 96," Kansas City Star 139, no. 219 (April 24, 2019): 1A, 2A.
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https://www.artforum.com/news/henry-wollman-bloch-1922-2019-79547.Frank Morris, "
Henry Bloch, Co-Founder Of H&R Block, Dies At 96," NPR (April 24, 2019): https://www.npr.org/2019/04/24/716641448/henry-bloch-co-founder-of-h-r-block-dies-at-96.Ignacio Villarreal, "Nelson-Atkins mourns loss of Henry Bloch," ArtDaily.org (April 24, 2019):
http://artdaily.com/news/113035/Nelson-Atkins-mourns-loss-of-Henry-Bloch#.XMB76qR7laQ.Eric Adler and Joyce Smith, "H&R Bloch co-founder, philanthropist Bloch dies," Cass County Democrat Missourian 140, no. 29 (April 26, 2019): 1A, 3A, (repro.).
Eric Adler and Joyce Smith, "KC businessman and philanthropist Henry Bloch dies," Lee’s Summit Journal 132, no. 79 (April 26, 2019): 1A.
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Eric Adler, "Sold for $3.25 million, Bloch’s home in Mission Hills may be torn down," Kansas City Star 141, no. 90 (
December 16, 2020): 2A, (repro.), as The Lock of Saint-Mammes [sic] (L’Ecluse de Saint-Mammes) [sic].Kristie C. Wolferman, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A History (Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 2020), 344–45.
Sylvie
Brame and François Lorenceau, Alfred Sisley: Catalogue critique des peintures et des pastels (Lausanne: La Bibliothèque des arts, 2021), no. 658, pp. 252, 477, 516–19, 522–23, 550, (repro.), as L’écluse de Saint-Mammès, canal du Loing.Brigid M. Boyle, “Alfred Sisley, The Lock of Saint-Mammès, 1885,” catalogue entry in French Paintings and Pastels, 1600–1945: The Collections of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, ed. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan (Kansas City: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2023), https://doi.org/10.37764/78973.5.662.5407.
