Woman in a Red Dress, or J. R. Against a Window
Framed: 21 3/8 × 23 7/16 × 2 3/4 inches (54.29 × 59.53 × 6.99 cm)
Madame in Her Boudoir, 1870–1940: Paintings, Sculpture, Graphics, Furnishings, C. W. Post Art Gallery, C. W. Post Center of Long Island University, Greenvale, New York, October 4–November 20, 1981, unnumbered, as La Dame rouge.
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. 28, as Woman in a Red Dress, or J. R. contre fenêtre.
Painters and Paper: Bloch Works on Paper, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, February 20, 2017–March 11, 2018, no cat.
The artist (1869–1940), Paris, ca. 1899–June 21, 1940;
Probably inherited by his brother-in-law, Ker-Xavier Roussel (1867–1944), 1940–June 6, 1944;
Probably inherited by his daughter, Annette Salomon (née Roussel, 1898–1968), or his son, Jacques Prosper Roussel (1885–1985), 1944 [1];
Elsa Schiaparelli (1890–1973), Paris, by November 13, 1973 [2];
To her daughter, Maria-Luisa-Yvonne Radha, Marchesa Cacciapuoti di Giugliano (née de Wendt de Kerlor, 1920–ca. 2018), Paris, by 1973 [3];
Purchased at Tableaux Modernes, Art Contemporain, Sculptures, Palais Galliéra, Paris, March 31, 1977, lot 126, La Dame rouge, by Wildenstein and Co., New York, 1977–July 14, 1983 [4];
Purchased from Wildenstein by Marion (née Helzberg, 1931–2013) and Henry (1922–2019) Bloch, Shawnee Mission, KS, 1983–June 15, 2015;
Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2015.
NOTES:
[1] Per Mathias Chivot, author of a forthcoming supplement to the Vuillard catalogue raisonné, his research dossier on Women in a Red Dress indicates that Schiaparelli probably purchased this painting either directly from Vuillard or from the artist’s niece or nephew, Annette Salomon or Jacques Roussel. See email from Mathias Chivot, independent scholar, to Brigid M. Boyle, NAMA, October 12, 2023, NAMA curatorial files.
[2] Information from Wildenstein and Co., Inc. invoice for Henry W. Bloch, August 17, 1983, NAMA curatorial files.
[3] Born Maria-Luisa-Yvonne Radha de Wendt de Kerlor, this constituent was nicknamed "Gogo" from a young age and took her mother’s last name after her parents divorced in 1924, such that she was known for much of her life as Gogo Schiaparelli. She was married twice, first to American diplomat Robert Lawrence Berenson (1914–1965) and later to Neapolitan nobleman Gino Cacciapuoti di Giugliano (1916–1990).
[4] See email from Joseph Baillio, Wildenstein and Co., Inc, to MacKenzie Mallon, NAMA, May 4, 2015, NAMA curatorial files. The seller of lot 126 was very likely Maria-Luisa-Yvonne Radha, Marchesa Cacciapuoti di Giugliano.
Tableaux Modernes, Art Contemporain, Sculptures (Paris: Palais Galliéra, March 31, 1977), unpaginated, (repro.), as La Dame rouge.
Madame in Her Boudoir, 1870–1940: Paintings, Sculpture, Graphics, Furnishings, exh. cat. (Greenvale, NY: C.W. Post Art Gallery, 1981), unpaginated, (repro.), as La Dame rouge.
Donald Hoffmann, "Eileen Jagoda’s lyrical collages suffer from formless tenor," Kansas City Star 105, no. 140 (March 3, 1985): 6F.
Antoine Salomon and Guy Cogeval, Vuillard, Le Regard innombrable: Catalogue critique des peintures et pastels (Paris: Wildenstein Institute, 2003), no. VI-113, pp. 1:532, 3:1701, 1715, 1726, and 1729, (repro.), as Femme en robe rouge.
Antoine Salomon and Guy Cogeval, Vuillard, The Inexhaustible Glance: Critical Catalogue of Paintings and Pastels (Milan: Skira, 2003), no. VI-113, pp. 1:532, 3:1712, 1715, 1726, and 1729, (repro.), as Woman in a Red Dress.
Richard R. Brettell and Joachim Pissarro, Manet to Matisse: Impressionist Masters from the Marion and Henry Bloch Collection, exh. cat. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2007), 10, 142–45, 162, (repro.), as Woman in a Red Dress, or J. R. contre fenêtre.
Alice Thorson, "A Tiny Renoir Began Impressive Obsession," Kansas City Star 127, no. 269 (June 3, 2007): E4–E5.
Alice Thorson, "Blochs add to Nelson treasures," Kansas City Star 130, no. 141 (February 5, 2010): A1, A8.
Carol Vogel, "O! Say, You Can Bid on a Johns," New York Times 159, no. 54,942 (February 5, 2010): C26.
Alice Thorson, "Gift will leave lasting impression," Kansas City Star 130, no. 143 (February 7, 2010): G1–G2.
Thomas M. Bloch, Many Happy Returns: The Story of Henry Bloch, America’s Tax Man (Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, 2011), 174–75.
Diane Stafford, "Bloch gift to go for Nelson upgrade," Kansas City Star 135, no. 203 (April 8, 2015): A1, A8.
"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.
"Nelson-Atkins to unveil renovated Bloch Galleries of European Art in winter 2017," Artdaily.org (July 20, 2016): http://artdaily.com/news/88852/Nelson-Atkins-to-unveil-renovated-Bloch-Galleries-of-European-Art-in-winter-2017-.
"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), 117, (repro.), as Woman in a Red Dress, or J. R. against a Window.
Kelly Crow, "Museum Rewards Donor with Fake Art to Hang at Home," Wall Street Journal (January 25, 2017): https://www.wsj.com/articles/museum-rewards-donor-with-fake-art-to-hang-at-home-1485370768.
David Frese, "Bloch savors paintings in redone galleries," Kansas City Star (February 25, 2017): 1A, 14A.
Albert Hecht, "Henry Bloch’s Masterpieces Collection to Go On Display at Nelson-Atkins Museum," Jewish Business News (February 26, 2017): http://jewishbusinessnews.com/2017/02/26/henry-bloch-masterpieces-collection/.
David Frese, "A collection of stories," and "Inside the Bloch Galleries: An interactive experience," Kansas City Star 137, no. 169 (March 5, 2017): 1D, 5D, (repro.), as Woman in a Red Dress or J. R. Against a Window.
"Editorial: Thank you, Henry and Marion Bloch," Kansas City Star (March 7, 2017), 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.
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/.
Harry Bellet, "Don du ciel pour le Musée Nelson-Atkins," Le Monde (March 13, 2017): http://www.lemonde.fr/arts/article/2017/03/13/don-du-ciel-pour-le-musee-nelson-atkins_5093543_1655012.html.
Menachem Wecker, "Jewish Philanthropist Establishes Kansas City as Cultural Mecca," Forward (March 14, 2017): 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 Nelon Atkins Museum," Blouin ArtInfo International (March 15, 2017): http://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/2005267/the-bloch-collection-takes-up-residence-in-kansas-citys.
Louise Nicholson, "How Kansas City got its magnificent museum," Apollo: The International Art Magazine (April 7, 2017): https://www.apollo-magazine.com/how-kansas-city-got-its-magnificent-museum/.
Lilly Wei, "Julián Zugazagoitia: ‘Museums should generate interest and open a door that leads to further learning,’" Studio International (August 21, 2017): http://studiointernational.com/index.php/julian-zugazagoitia-director-nelson-atkins-museum-of-art-kansas-city-interview.
Robert D. Hershey Jr., "Henry Bloch, H&R Block’s cofounder, dies at 96," Boston Globe (April 23, 2019): 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.
"Henry Wollman Bloch (1922–2019)," Artforum (April 24, 2019): 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 Block co-founder, philanthropist Bloch dies," Cass County Democrat Missourian 140, no. 29 (April 26, 2019): 1A.
Eric Adler and Joyce Smith, "KC businessman and philanthropist Henry Bloch dies," Lee’s Summit Journal 132, no. 79 (April 26, 2019): 1A.
Luke Nozicka, "Family and friends remember Henry Bloch of H&R Block," Kansas City Star 139, no. 225 (April 30, 2019): 4A [repr., in Luke Nozicka, "Family and friends remember Henry Bloch of H&R Block," Kansas City Star 139, no. 228 (May 3, 2019): 3A].
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.
Kristie C. Wolferman, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A History (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2020), 345.
Kenneth Brummel, “Edouard Vuillard, Woman in a Red Dress, or J. R. Against a Window, ca. 1899,” catalogue entry, and Rachel Freeman, “Edouard Vuillard, Woman in a Red Dress, or J. R. Against a Window, ca. 1899,” technical 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, 2024), https://doi.org/10.37764/78973.5.740.
Martin Brudnizki, My Life in Colors (New
York: Rizzoli International
Publications, forthcoming September 2025).
