Photo Source: Mattie Edwards Hewitt Collection, Pennsylvania State Archives |
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| The Vigée Le Brun self-portrait owned by the Stotesburys presents a most intriguing art history mystery. This may be the only painting from the collection at 1925 Walnut Street that was retained by the Stotesburys but never hung in Whitemarsh Hall. Instead, it appears to have gone for a short time to El Mirasol and then been moved to Wingwood. The rest of the paintings from the Walnut Street house that were not moved to Whitemarsh Hall subsequently were placed in storage and eventually were all sold by 1937.
E.T. Stotesbury purchased the Vigée Le Brun painting some time prior to 1915, possibly in Europe during the summer of 1912, when he and his second wife Eva were traveling abroad after their marriage earlier that year. The Stotesburys initially hung it in a formally decorated room in the 1925 Walnut Street house (see photo below).
The Stotesbury Vigée Le Brun on the far left as it was in this room at 1925 Walnut Street. This photo most likely was taken before the Ballroom was constructed in 1915. Photo Source: Private Collection Once the new Ballroom in the Walnut Street house was completed by the end of 1916 under the supervision of architect Horace Trumbauer, the portrait was given a prominent place over the elaborate chimney piece there, as shown below.
The Stotesbury Vigée Le Brun as it was in the Ballroom at 1925 Walnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1916 until 1925. The fireplace and wall carvings still exist at what is now 1923 Walnut Street in Philadelphia, the home of the Catholic Philopatrian Literary Institute. Photo Source: Private Collection When the Walnut Street townhouse was sold in 1925, the portrait was briefly transferred to El Mirasol in Palm Beach. After Wingwood House was completed in 1928, the Vigée Le Brun self portrait was moved there. It was displayed prominently, at the end of the Entrance Hall (see below). The August 31, 1931 issue of Town & Country magazine had an article on "Mr. E.T. Stotesbury's Bar Harbor Home 'Wingwood House'." The photo shown below was used in this article, and the caption with the photo said, "The picture over the old Adam mantel in the corridor is a replica by Vigée Le Brun of her self portrait in the Louvre, painted for the British Minister to Florence."
The Stotesbury Vigée Le Brun as it was in the Entrance Hallway at Wingwood in Bar Harbor, Maine from 1926 until it was sold in August 1946 Photo Source: Mattie Edwards Hewitt Collection, Pennsylvania State Archives After Eva Stotesbury's death in 1946, the contents of Wingwood House were sold at an auction on the premises conducted by Samuel Freeman & Co. of Philadelphia. On Friday afternoon, August 23, 1946, the Stotesbury Vigée Le Brun (lot no. 1186) was knocked down for $700. The portrait may have reappeared in Los Angeles in 1954, when a Mr. William M. Harris produced a self-portrait by Vigée Le Brun that he had purchased at an auction for less than $1,000 and that had been authenticated by Richard Brown, a former curator of the Frick Collection; C.L.J. Damme, a Dutch art expert, and Philip A. Ramos. The trail runs cold after that, although it is rumored that a self-portrait by Vigée Le Brun once appeared on the PBS television series Antiques Roadshow. Adding to the mystery surrounding this portrait is the possibility that it could be a forgery instead of an original. There are at least three known original versions of this painting: 1) The Uffizi Self-Portrait, in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. In this portrait, the subject of the canvas upon which Madame Vigée Le Brun is painting is thought to be Marie Antoinette:
2) The Ickworth House Self-Portrait, in Suffolk, England. In this portrait, the subject of the artist's canvas is thought to be her daughter Julie:
3) The Watford Museum Self-Portrait, in Hertfordshire, England, in which the subject of the canvas is thought to be Marie Antoinette:
Until the Stotesbury Vigée Le Brun is found, this mystery will remain unsolved. But if this portrait was a forgery, then why would the artist portray Elizabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun with her head cocked slightly to her left, which is different from all three of the other paintings? |
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Dimensions: Canvas 40 x 33 inches
Provenance: Painted 1790? Most likely purchased by the Stotesburys while on their post-honeymoon tour of Europe in the summer of 1912. Sold for $700 at the auction of items from Wingwood, August 1946 The discovery of a "lost" self-portrait by Elizabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun was announced in Los Angeles in 1954, as property of a Mr. William M. Harris, who had purchased the portrait a few years beforehand in Los Angeles. Authentication was provided by Richard Brown, former curator of the Frick Collection in New York, C.L.J. Damme, and Philip A. Ramos. Stotesbury Locations: 1925 Walnut Street, in the Ballroom that is now part of 1923 Walnut Street (the Catholic Philopatrian Literary Institute); El Mirasol (briefly, in 1925); Wingwood, at the end of the Entrance Hall, 1926 to 1946. Sources: Valuable furnishings and Art Collection at "Wingwood House" Bar Harbor, Maine, The Residence of the Late Eva R. Stotesbury, Public Auction, August 20th to 24th and August 26th, 1946 on the premises, Samuel T. Freeman & Co., Philadelphia (item no. 1186); "Painting Bought at Sale Verified as Art Treasure," The New York Times, November 20, 1954, page 11. |
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