ROBERT HENRI
Study of a Woman with Hand on Chin.
Pencil on cream wove paper, circa 1905. 277x215 mm; 11x8½ inches. Inscribed with the artist's name and initialed "JCL" in blue ink by John C. LeClair, executor of Henri's estate and the nephew of his sister-in-law, Violet Organ, lower right recto. Provenance: Estate of the artist, New York; Davis Galleries, New York, with the label; Gallery Fifty-two, South Orange, New Jersey, with the label; estate of Elizabeth Rosenstein, East Orange, New Jersey; sold Christie's, New York, October 1, 1987, lot 248, to the current owner, private collection, Toronto.Henri (1865-1929) was a leading Ashcan artist, a prominent figure in the revolt against American academic art, and Edward Hopper's teacher during the early 1900s. As an art instructor, Henri preached originality and urged Hopper's further study of European art. "Hopper had heard Henri praise the work of European artists such as Daumier, Courbet, Degas, Manet, Renoir, Rembrandt, Hals, Velásquez, Goya, and El Greco, and like so many of Henri's students, felt he should travel to Europe to see the works of these great masters firsthand. So, with his parents' help, he left for Paris in October 1906 and did not return until the following August," (Levin, Edward Hopper as Illustrator, New York, 1979, page 11).