Inscription: Signed and numbered (back of tang): Henri Matisse / 2/10
the artist (until 1912; probably sold in spring 1912 through Edward Steichen to Stieglitz); Alfred Stieglitz, New York (1912–d. 1946; his estate, 1946–49; gift to MMA)
New York. 291. "Exhibition of Sculpture–The First in America–and Recent Drawings by Henri Matisse," March 14–April 6, 1912 brochure no. 3 (as "Torso Study") or no. 5 (as "Torso").
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "History of an American, Alfred Stieglitz: '291' and After, Selections from the Stieglitz Collection," July 1–November 1, 1944, no. 61.
Museum of Modern Art, New York. "Alfred Stieglitz Exhibition: His Collection," June 10–August 31, 1947, no catalogue (checklist no. 5).
Art Institute of Chicago. "Alfred Stieglitz: His Photographs and His Collection," February 2–29, 1948, no catalogue.
Museum of Modern Art, New York. "From the Alfred Stieglitz Collection: An Extended Loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 22–August 12, 1951, no catalogue (checklist no. E.L.51.680; as "Torso"; loan extended to June 9, 1958).
Museum of Modern Art, New York. "Henri Matisse," November 13, 1951–January 13, 1952, no. 80 (as "Torso with a Head").
Cleveland Museum of Art. "Henri Matisse," February 5–March 16, 1952, no. 80.
Art Institute of Chicago. "Henri Matisse," April 1–May 4, 1952, no. 80.
San Francisco Museum of Art. "Henri Matisse," May 22–July 6, 1952, no. 80.
Museum of Modern Art, New York. "The Sculpture of Matisse," February 23–May 8, 1972, no. 24 (as "Torso with Head (La Vie)").
Musée Matisse, Nice. "Henri Matisse: Sculptures," July 29–September 29, 1974, no. 16 (as "La Vie. Torse avec tête.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Summer Loan Exhibition," July 17–September 30, 1979, unnum. brochure (as "Torso with Head ("La Vie")").
City Art Centre, Edinburgh. "The Sculpture of Henri Matisse," August 5–September 16, 1984, no. 20.
London. Hayward Gallery. "The Sculpture of Henri Matisse," October 4, 1984–January 6, 1985, no. 20.
City Art Gallery, Leeds. "The Sculpture of Henri Matisse," January 18–March 24, 1985, no. 20.
Saarland Museum Saarbrücken. "Henri Matise: Zeichnungen und Skulpturen," May 12–July 7, 1991, no. 107 (as "Torso mit Kopf (La Vie)").
Museum of Modern Art, New York. "Henri Matisse: A Retrospective," September 24, 1992–January 12, 1993, extended to January 19, 1993, no. 80 (as "La Vie / Torso with Head").
Brisbane. Queensland Art Gallery. "Matisse," March 29–May 16, 1995, no. 37 (as "La Vie").
Canberra. National Gallery of Australia. "Matisse," May 27–July 9, 1995, no. 37.
Melbourne. National Gallery of Victoria. "Matisse," July 19–September 3, 1995, no. 37.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Small Bronzes," September 5, 2003–March 14, 2004, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Selections from The Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection, Part 2," September 28, 2004–January 30, 2005, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Selections from The Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection, Part 3," February 15–June 26, 2005, no catalogue.
Dallas Museum of Art and Nasher Sculpture Center. "Matisse: Painter as Sculptor," January 21–April 29, 2007, no. 37 (as "Torso with Head (La Vie)").
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. "Matisse: Painter as Sculptor," June 9–September 16, 2007, no. 37.
Baltimore Museum of Art. "Matisse: Painter as Sculptor," October 28, 2007–February 3, 2008, no. 37.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Stieglitz and His Artists: Matisse to O'Keeffe," October 13, 2011–January 2, 2012, no. 9.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "African Art, New York, and the Avant-Garde," November 27, 2012–September 2, 2013, no catalogue.
Alfred H. Barr Jr. Matisse: His Art and His Public. New York, 1951, pp. 100, 148, 326, ill.
[Louis] Aragon. Henri Matisse: A Novel. [French ed., 1971]. New York, 1972, vol. 2, fig. 136.
Albert E. Elsen. Origins of Modern Sculpture: Pioneers and Premises. New York, 1974, pp. 79, 85.
William Innes Homer. Alfred Stieglitz and the American Avant-Garde. Boston, 1977, p. 66.
John Elderfield. Matisse in the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, including Remainder-Interest and Promised Gifts. New York, 1978, pp. 51, 183, fig. 25.
Jack Flam. Matisse: The Man and His Art, 1869–1918. Ithaca, 1986, pp. 181–83, fig. 174.
Richard Whelan. Alfred Stieglitz: A Biography. Boston, 1995, pp. 303–4.
Claude Duthuit with Wanda de Guébriant. Henri Matisse: Catalogue Raisonné de l'oeuvre sculpté. Paris, 1997, pp. 56–59, no. 23, ill.
John H. Cauman. "Matisse and America, 1905–1933." PhD diss., City University of New York, 2000, vol. 1, pp. 168, 175, fig. 1.60.
John Cauman in Sarah Greenough. Modern Art and America: Alfred Stieglitz and His New York Galleries. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art. Washington, D. C., 2000, 93, 95, fig. 33.
Magdalena Dabrowski in "Selections from the Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 61 (Spring 2004), p. 40, ill. (color).
Sabine Rewald inStieglitz and His Artists: Matisse to O'Keeffe. Ed. Lisa Mintz Messinger. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2011, pp. 33, 36, 244, no. 9, ill. (color).
Henri Matisse (French, Le Cateau-Cambrésis 1869–1954 Nice)
1912
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