Max WeberAmerican, born former Russian Empire, now Poland
Not on view
In 1907, as a young art student in France, Weber befriended self-taught artist Henri Rousseau. By 1910, the year of the Frenchman’s death, Weber owned several of Rousseau’s paintings. In Memories, the decorative flattening of form and stylized figuration can be attributed partly to Rousseau’s posthumous influence. The painting shows a prim young woman in a landscape environment sparsely populated with objects—a tree, a vase, and, most mysterious, an image of two women in polka-dot dresses that seems to hover over her head.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
Inscription: Signed and dated (lower right): MAX WEBER. '12
the artist, Great Neck, N. Y. (1912–d. 1961; his estate, from 1961); [Bernard Danenberg Galleries, Inc., New York, in 1970]; [Forum Gallery, New York, until 1991; sold to MMA]
London. Alpine Club Gallery. "Grafton Group Exhibition," March 15–31, 1913, no. 58 (as "Panel Decoration: Memories").
New York. Bernard Danenberg Galleries, Inc. "Fifty Years of Painting by Max Weber," April 15–May 10, 1969, no. 8 (as "Decoration with Seated Figure").
New York. Bernard Danenberg Galleries, Inc. "Max Weber: The Years 1906–1916," May 12–30, 1970, no. 50 (as "Decoration with Seated Figure") [travelled to numerous U.S. venues, including those listed below].
Long Beach Museum of Art. "Max Weber: The Years 1906–1916," November 8–29, 1970.
Davenport, Iowa. Davenport Municipal Art Gallery. "Max Weber: The Years 1906–1916," May 22–July 16, 1971.
Elmira, N.Y. Arnot Art Museum. "Max Weber: The Years 1906–1916," October 8–28, 1972.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "American Painting: 1905–1950," April 19–October 7, 1991, no catalogue (as "Seated Woman," lent anonymously).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Direct Eye: Self-Taught Artists and Their Influence on Twentieth Century Art," June 19–October 18, 1998, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Max Weber from the Collection," March 9–June 13, 1999, no catalogue.
New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture. "Académie Matisse: Henri Matisse and his Nordic and American Pupils," October 17–November 17, 2001, unnum. brochure (p. 35).
C. M. "A Folk Art Revival." Evening Standard and St. James Gazette (March 25, 1913), p. 9.
C. "Art. Post-Impressionism Again." Nation 12 (March 29, 1913), p. 1060.
Sarah Lansdell. "Max Weber: A Humanist Among Moderns." Courier-Journal (February 1, 1970), p. E12, calls it "Decoration With Seated Figure" and dates it 1912.
Julie Jensen. "A Review: Max Weber Show." Quad-City Times (May 23, 1971), p. 3D, calls it "Decoration With Seated Figure".
Denys Sutton, ed. Letters of Roger Fry. New York, 1972, vol. 1, p. 49, states that this picture was not for sale in Exh. London 1913.
Charles J. Hall. A Chronicle of American Music 1700-1995. 1996, p. 279, dates it 1911 and calls it "Decoration with Seated Figure—Summer".
Whitney Scott. "Outsiders on the Inside." New York Post (August 29, 1998).
Max Weber (American (born former Russian Empire, now Poland), Bialystok 1881–1961 Great Neck, New York)
1947
Resources for Research
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Met's engagement with art from 1890 to today includes the acquisition and exhibition of works in a range of media, spanning movements in modernism to contemporary practices from across the globe.
