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Daisies

A work made of oil on canvas.
© 2018 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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  • A work made of oil on canvas.

Date:

1939

Artist:

Henri Matisse
French, 1869–1954

About this artwork

Henri Matisse titled this composition after the prominent vase of flowers on a tabletop. The large fields of unmodulated black, blue, and red reflect the artist’s growing interest in abstraction and a formal effect that he termed “ballast,” a synonym for stability.

Painted only months before France declared war on Germany, Daisies was first owned by the influential modern art dealer Paul Rosenberg (1881–1959). Within a year of purchasing the painting, Rosenberg, among other Jewish dealers, was targeted by the Nazis and was forced to flee France. Daisies was seized along with the majority of Rosenberg’s collection. Only after the war ended and a portion of these works were recuperated by the US Army was Rosenberg able to reclaim some of his collection, including this piece, which he brought to his newly founded gallery in New York.

Status

On View, Gallery 394

Department

Modern Art

Artist

Henri Matisse

Title

Daisies

Place

France (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1939

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

Signed and dated, l.r.: "Henri/Matisse/39"

Dimensions

92 × 65 cm (36 3/16 × 25 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Helen Pauling Donnelley in memory of her parents, Mary Fredericka and Edward George Pauling

Reference Number

1983.206

Copyright

© 2018 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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