Information

Provenance

Estate of the artist

Lilly Butler (1894–1949), daughter of above, by descent from above

Jean-Marie Toulgouat (1927–2006), son of above, by descent from above

Private collection, by descent from above

Sale, Bonhams, New York, New York, November 24, 2020, lot 14, from above

 

Exhibited

(Probably) Durand-Ruel Gallery, New York, New York, March 1900

 

Literature

(Probably) “The Week in Art.,” The New York Times, March 10, 1900, 155.

 

Note: Following the death of his wife, Suzanne Hoschedé (1868–1899), Butler and his children returned to the United States, arriving in New York on September 24, 1899. Inspired by the bustling metropolis, Butler captured this panorama of the hectic and hazy harbor from a nearby rooftop. This painting was very likely one of three East River scenes exhibited at Durand-Ruel in March 1900, alongside works by his stepfather-in-law Claude Monet (1840–1926). A contemporary New York Times review of the show noted:

Theodore E. Butler, who is a stepson of Mme. Claude Monet, the French impressionist master, has now on exhibition at the Durand-Ruel Galleries an exhibition of some thirty-six canvases, for the most part French landscapes, but which also include two portraits, two studies of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, and three of New York’s East River water front…. The best are those painted in this city…. A view of the Brooklyn Bridge in a snowstorm, from the East River, is also good and truthful.

 

Jean-Marie Toulgouat was a grandson of the artist and was raised in Giverny. He carried on the family’s artistic legacy under the tutelage of his aunt, Blanche Hoschedé Monet (1865–1947), who had leaned painting directly from her stepfather Monet. Toulgouat enjoyed a long career and exhibited in France, London, and the United States.

 

This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist’s work by Patrick Bertrand.