Stubborn
by Louis Moeller (1855–1930)18⅛ x 15⅛ inches
Signed lower right: Louis Moeller.
Provenance
The artist
Thomas B. Clarke, New York, New York, acquired from above, 1887
Sale, The American Art Association, New York, New York, February 14, 1899, lot 47, from above
Jay C. Holmes
John D. Rockefeller, 1899
Rockefeller-Nash Estate, Cleveland, Ohio, ca. 1966–67
Sale, Sotheby’s, New York, New York, December 3, 1987, lot 98
Mr. and Mrs. Sidney H. Kosann
Sale, Nadeau’s Auction Gallery, Windsor, Connecticut, October 30, 2021, lot 475
Private collection, New York, New York
Exhibited
National Academy of Design, New York, New York, 62nd Annual Exhibition, 1887, no. 338
World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Illinois, 1893, no. 738
Literature
National Academy Notes and Complete Catalogue. Sixty-Second Spring Exhibition. National Academy of Design (New York: Caddell & Co., 1887), 24, 41.
The Art of the World: Illustrated in the Paintings, Statuary, and Architecture of the World’s Columbian Exposition (New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1893), 26–27.
Related Work
A Discussion, ca. 1890–95, oil on canvas, 18 x 24 3/16 inches, signed lower right; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
Note: Both Mr. Thomas B. Clarke and Mr. John D. Rockefeller’s collections were particularly renowned. Clarke’s collection was exhibited at the American Art Association and Rockefeller’s was known for being comprised of masterworks of American art. The painting’s selection for inclusion in the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition is also notable in that the fair was intended to showcase the high standards of American art.
Artist Biography
Louis Moeller is remembered for his genre paintings featuring older gentlemen engaged in various daily activities. His paintings are typically smaller in scale and feature animated figures depicted in sophisticated interior settings. Moeller was the son of a decorative painter. After studying with his father, he continued his education in New York at the National Academy of Design and, later, in Munich. He collaborated with a group of artists interested in 17th century Dutch Masters. Moeller won the National Academy’s prestigious Hallgarten Prize in 1884 and, later, became a National Academician. The artist opened a studio in New York where