Cloister

CultureFrench

Date14th century

MediumStone

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust

Object number41-31

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

European Art

Terms

Exhibition History

N/A

Gallery Label

In the first half of the 20th century, many newly founded American museums sought to re-create portions of the original setting of works of art by acquiring period rooms and architectural features imported from Europe. The Nelson-Atkins cloister, installed in1948, is said to have come from an Augustinian Abbey near Beauvais, north of Paris. It was purchased from William Randolph Hearst, the press baron, who had bought it for his mansion at San Simeon in California.

Provenance

Possibly St. Augustine, Beauvais region, France [1];

With E. Simon, Beauvais, France, by July 31, 1930;

Purchased from Simon by Brummer Gallery, New York, stock no. P7187, July 31-August 9, 1930 [2];

Purchased from Brummer by William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951), New York and San Simeon, CA, stock no. 630, August 9, 1930-August 13, 1941 [3];

Purchased at his sale, Art Objects & Furnishings from the William Randolph Hearst Collection, Hammer Galleries, New York, by Brummer Gallery, New York, stock no. N5208, August 13, 1941 [4];

Purchased from Brummer by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1941.

NOTES:

[1] According to an undated, unsigned note, NAMA curatorial files.

[2] The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Cloisters Library and Archives, Brummer Gallery Records, Roman, Gothic, Renaissance, and Greek architecture and capitals, Object inventory card number N5208.

[3] William Randolph Hearst Archive, Long Island University Post (S/B lot 630, art. 1, Album 77, p. 35-36).

[4] There were no lot numbers in this sale. Items were listed by Hearst collection number. This sculpture’s number was 630-1.

Published References

Art Objects and Furnishings from the William Randolph Hearst Collection: Catalogue Raisonné Comprising Illustrations of Representative Works Together with Comprehensive Descriptions of Books, Autographs and Manuscripts and Complete Index (New York: William Bradford Press, 1941), 320, as A Cloister Consisting of Forty-Five to Forty-Seven Arches, French—from the End of XIII or Beginning of XIV Cen.

H. C. H, “Lavish On Its Birthday: Nelson Gallery Buys Art Treasures As a Gift. French Cloister from the Hearst Collection is Among Tenth Anniversary Prizes,” 64, no. 84 (December 10, 1943): 1, (repro.).

H. C. H., “Degas and Rodin Approach Eligibility at the Gallery,” Kansas City Star 66, no. 130 (January 25, 1946): 9.

“Unfinished Wing of Gallery Like Film Set Design Studio,” Kansas City Star 69, no. 119 (January 14, 1949): 13.

“New Wing of Nelson Gallery To Be Opened to Public Sunday,” Kansas City Star 69, no. 196 (April 1, 1949): 29.

E. B. Garnett, “New Wing on Art Gallery Opens Today,” and “The Nelson Gallery Reveals More Art Treasures,” Kansas City Star 69, no. 198 (April 3, 1949): 1, 1E.

Edward R. Schauffler, “An Expert Set Up The Cloister,” Kansas City Star 69, no. 198 (April 3, 1949): 2E.

“Gay Note at Gallery,” Kansas City Times 112, no. 80 (April 3, 1949): 1.

Michael Churchman and Scott Erbes, High Ideals and Aspirations: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1933-1993 (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1993), 67.

John Harris, Moving Rooms (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, 2007), 184.

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.