Stammer Mill with Streaked Sky
- 129
Before Piet Mondrian became known for his orderly red, yellow, and blue geometric abstractions, he made more than 30 paintings of the windmills that dotted the Dutch countryside. With this painting, he began a shift away from earthy naturalism, and hints ofhis future work emerged.
The gridded windmill blades are in perfect vertical and horizontal alignment. Notice the swaths of yellow in the sky, the blue horizon line, and the red boat. This use of primary colors and geometric forms anticipates the colors and grids of his later compositions.
With Kunsthandel C. van Heiningen, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, by 1943 [1];
Jan (1908-1999) and Georgine (née van Rijn, 1906-1969) van Andel, Zwolle and The Hague, the Netherlands, 1944-1960;
By descent to their daughter, Johanna Henriette Jacoba Mead (née van Andel, 1936-2024), Belmont, MA, 1960-May 10, 1989 [2];
Purchased at her sale, Impressionist and Modern Paintings and Sculpture (Part I), Christie’s, New York, May 10, 1989, lot 58, as Le moulin, by an unknown Asian collector, 1989 [3];
Impressionist and Modern Art (Day Sale), Christie’s, New York, May 10, 2001, lot 368;
Acquired after the above sale by an unknown private collector, 2001-March 17, 2016 [4];
Purchased from the private collector, through Christie’s Private Sales, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2016.
NOTES:
[1] Although documentation provided at the time of the painting’s purchase gives this dealer as “J. van Heyninge, Rotterdam,” this is more likely Kunsthandel C. van Heiningen, a dealer of old and modern paintings and watercolors located at Bellamystraat 4a in Rotterdam and who also offered art valuation and conservation services, as described in local newspaper advertisements of the period.
[2] According to Johanna Henriette Jacoba Mead, in a telephone conversation with MacKenzie Mallon, Specialist, Provenance, January 27, 2016, Georgine van Andel traded a seal fur coat for the painting during World War II. Jan and Georgine van Andel presented the painting to their daughter upon Joanna’s immigration to the United States in 1960, as a memento of her home country.
[3] According to Johanna Mead [see note 2], she thought the painting was bought by a Japanese museum or collector.
[4] The painting to failed to sell at the May 10, 2001 auction. An Art Loss Register report dated , however, states that it was acquired at this sale by the owner from whom the Nelson-Atkins purchased it. It is possible the painting was sold privately following the May 10, 2001 auction, or it may have remaine in the possession of the same Asian collector who bought it from the May 10, 1989 sale. The painting was shipped from Hong Kong to New York in 2015 prior to the Nelson-Atkins's purchase.
