Nude on a Red Background

Date
Artist
Fernand Léger, French, b. Argentan, 1881–1955
Provenance
Mme. Marie Cuttoli, Paris (acquired from the artist), by 1929 to at least 1966
Harold Diamond, New York, to 20 November 1968
Joseph H. Hirshhorn, New York, 20 November 1968-6 March 1972
Gift of the Joseph H. Hirshhorn Foundation, 1972
Exhibition History
MUSEE NATIONAL D'ART MODERNE, Paris. "Fernand Leger: Exposition Retrospective 1905-1949," 6 October -13 November 1949, no. 35.
MUSEE DES ARTS DECORATIFS, Paris. "Fernand Leger 1881-1955," June-October 1956, no. 63, ill. p. 197. Tour: PALAIS DES BEAUX ARTS, Brussels, October-November 1956. (Collection Mme Cuttoli)
MUSEE NATIONAL D'ART MODERNE, Paris. "Depuis Bonnard," 23 March-5 May 1957, no. 111.
PAVILLON DE VENDOME, Aix-en-Provenance, France. "Collection d'un amateur parisien," 15 July-28 September 1958, no. 21, ill.
GALERIE CHARPENTIER, Paris. "Cent Tableaus des collections privees, de Bonnard a de Stael," May 1960, no. 61, ill.
CHATEAU DES ROHAN, Strasbourg, France. "Picasso et ses amis," June-July 1960, no. 16, ill.
ALTE GALERIE, Kassel, Germany. "Documenta III," 27 June-5 October 1964, part I, no. 14, p. 66.
MUSEE CANTINI, Marseille. "Fernand Leger," June-August 1966, no. 44, ill. (Collection Mme. Cuttoli, Paris).
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. "Inaugural Exhibition," 4 October 1974-15 September 1975, no. 396, colorpl.
STAATLICHE KUNSTHALLE, Berlin. "Fernand Leger 1881-1955," 24 October 1980-7 January 1981, cat. no. 54, ill. cover.
ALBRIGHT-KNOX ART GALLERY, Buffalo, New York. "Fernand Leger," 15 January-28 February 1982, no. 43. Tour: MUSEE DES BEAUX-ARTS DE MONTREAL, Canada, 11 March-18 April; DALLAS MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, 12 May-27 June.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION TRAVELING EXHIBITION SERVICE, Washington, DC. "Treasures of the Smithsonian." Tour: ROYAL SCOTTISH MUSEUM, Edinburgh, Scotland, 11 August-4 November 1984.
CENTRE GEORGES POMPIDOU, Paris. "Fernand Leger," 29 May-29 September 1997, colorpl. p. 167. Tour: MUSEO NACIONAL CENTRO DE ARTE REINA SOFIA, Madrid, Spain, 28 October 1997-12 January 1998, colorpl. p. 117; MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, New York, 11 February-27 May.
THE GETTY VILLA, Malibu, CA. "Modern Antiquity: Picasso, de Chirico, Léger, and Picabia in the Presence of the Antique," 2 November 2011-16 January 2012. Tour: THE MUSEE PICASSO, Antibes, France, 1 February-20 May 2012.
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. "Masterworks from the Hirshhorn Collection," 9 June 2016-6 August 2017, no cat.
Published References
WALDEMAR, GEORGE. Fernand Leger (Paris: Liberairie Gallimard, 1929), ill. p. 37 (as Femme Assise, 1925, coll. Cuttoli).
UNSIGNED. "The Story of a Great Patroness: The Cuttoli Tapestry," Realites 107 (October 1959), p. 64, ill.
DEROUDILLE, RENE. Leger (Paris: Bordas, 1968), colorpl. p. 38.
GOLDING, JOHN and CHRISTOPHER GREEN. Leger and Purist Paris (London: Tate Gallery, 1970), pp. 67, 101, ill. p. 65.
UNSIGNED. Collection Marie Cuttoli Henri Langier Paris (Basel: Beyeler, 1970), ill.
FORGEY, BENJAMIN. "A Bonanza for Smithsonian," Washington Star (Washington, DC: 10 March 1972), sec. E, p. 12, ill.
Golding, John and Green, Christopher. Léger and Purist Paris. London: Tate Gallery, 1970.
Green, Christopher. Léger and the Avant-Garde. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1976.
ROBERTSON, NAN. "Hirshhorn Gives Museum 326 Works," New York Times (10 March 1972).
SECREST, MERYLE. "Hirshhorn: Gift to the Nation," Washington Post (10 March 1972), sec. C. p. 1, ill.
FRANKENSTEIN, ALFRED. "Hirshhorn Launches Inaugural Exhibition," San Francisco Chronicle (20 October 1974), ill. p. 29.
LERNER, ABRAM, et al. The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1974), p. 712, colorpl. p. 283.
GREEN, CHRISTOPHER. Leger and the Avant-Garde (New Haven and London: Yale University, 1976), pp. 313-314, ill. p. 213.
BOWEN, LISA BALFOUR. "Major retrospective potent but ponderous," Toronto Star (3 April 1982), ill.
BUCK, Robert, Fry, Edward, and Charlotta Kotik. "Fernand Léger." New York: Abbeville Press and Albright-Knox Art Gallery, 1982.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION TRAVELING EXHIBITION SERVICE. Treasures of the Smithsonian (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1983), colorpl.
BARNETT, Vivian. "Fernand Léger," in John R. Lane and Susan C. Larsen, eds., Abstract Painting and Sculpture in America, 1927-1944. (Pittsburgh: Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute in association with Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1983): 184-86.
Freeman, Judi. "L'Evénement d' Objectivité Plastique: Léger's Shift from the Mechanical to the Figurative, 1926-1933" in Fernand Léger: The Later Years. London: Whitechapel, 1987.
BRITSCH, RALPH A. and TODD BRITSCH. The Arts in Western Culture (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1985), fig. 15-23, p. 379.
UNSIGNED. A Picture Tour of the Smithsonian (New York: American Legacy Press, 1987), ill. p. 40.
SEROTA, NICHOLAS and JOANNA SKIPWITH, ed. Fernand Léger: the later years (London: Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1987), ill. pp. 27, 37.
MARTINEZ, BENJAMIN and JACQUELINE BLOCK. Visual Forces (Englewood Cliffs, New Gersey, Prentice-Hall, 1988), fig. C, p. 63.
TURNER, ELIZABETH HUTTON. American Artists in Paris, 1919-1929 (Ann Arbor, Michigan: U.M.I. Research Press, 1989), fig. 33.
BAUQUIER, GEORGES. Fernand Leger, catalogue raisonne, 1925-1928 (Paris: Maeght, 1993), no. 530, colorpl. pp. 236-237.
CHRISTIE'S, New York. Impressionist and Modern Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, Part I (New York: Christie's, 12 May 1993), catalogue entry of lot. 46 refers to the painting, p. 106.
MCALLISTER, JANE, ed. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden: 150 Works of Art (Washington, DC: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in association with Harry N. Abrams, 1996), ill.
O'SULLIVAN, MICHAEL. "Here & Now: Art," Washington Post (22 December 1996), ill. p. G3.
UNSIGNED. "Hardcovers in Brief: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden: 150 works of Art," Book World (22 December 1996), p. 13.
ZIILCZER, JUDITH. Richard Lindner: paintings and watercolors, 1948-1977 (Washington, DC : Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; Munich: Prestel, 1996), fig. 35, p. 84.
SHONE, RICHARD. "Fernand Leger," Artforum (November 1997), colorpl. p. 104.
BENFEY, CHRISTOPHER. "Sex Machines: Fernand Leger and His Women," Slate website, art section (28 February 1998), ill.
FITZGERALD, MICHAEL. "Machine Dreams," Vogue (February 1998), pp. 224-227, 266, ill. p. 227.
See file for further info.
See more items in
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection
Credit Line
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of the Joseph H. Hirshhorn Foundation, 1972
Data Source
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Accession Number
72.173
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
51 1/4 X 32 IN. (130.1 X 81.4 CM.)