Lemons on a Pewter Plate

Modern Art

1926

Henri Matisse
French, 1869–1954

Beginning in 1917, Henri Matisse spent most winters in the southern French city of Nice. The warm light there transformed the artist’s work profoundly, leading him to comment: “If I had painted in the north … my painting would have been different. There would have been browns, grays, shadings of color through perspective.” Painted during one of his sojourns to Nice, this picture’s challenging spatial construction, palpable paint texture, and patterned background recall the still lifes of Paul Cezanne. The artist was especially on Matisse’s mind when he began this composition in 1926: the same year, Matisse’s dealer staged a posthumous retrospective of over 50 of Cézanne’s major works.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Modern Art

Artist: Henri Matisse
Title: Lemons on a Pewter Plate
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.: 1926
Medium: Oil on canvas
Inscriptions: Signed, l.r.: "Henri-Matisse"
Dimensions: 55.6 × 67.1 cm (21 5/8 × 26 1/8 in.)
Credit Line: A Millennium Gift of Sara Lee Corporation
Reference Number: 1999.371
Copyright: © 2018 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Société des “Artistes Indépendants,” Catalogue de la 37e Exposition, exh. cat. (Société des “Artistes Indépendants,” 1926), p. 157, cat. 1664, as Nature morte (citrons, plat d’étain).
“Les Expositions à Paris et ailleurs: Berlin: Henri-Matisse (Galerie Thannhauser),” Cahiers d’art 5, no. 2 (1930), p. 107 (ill.).
Galerien Thannhauser, Henri Matisse, mit Geleitwort von Prof. Hans Purrmann und 64 Abbildungen, exh. cat. (Galerien Thannhauser, 1930), pp. 18, cat. 56; 27 (ill.), as Zitronenstilleben.
Henri-Matisse, exh. cat., texts by Henri Matisse and Carl Egger (Kunsthalle Basel, 1931), p. 16, cat. 78, as Les Citrons au plat d’étain, 1924.
Petit Palais, Les maitres de l’art indépendant, 1895–1937, exh. cat. (Éditions Arts et Métiers Graphiques, 1937), p. 38, cat. 46, as Les Citrons, 1927.
Pierre Matisse Gallery, Henri Matisse: Paintings, Drawings of 1918 to 1938, exh. cat. (Pierre Matisse Gallery, 1938), cat. 2, as Still Life with Lemons, 1927.
Edward Alden Jewell, “Noted Modernists Feature Art Week,” New York Times, Nov. 15, 1938, p. 20, as Still Life with Lemons, 1927.
Martha Davidson, “Recent Matisse Anthology: A Great Contemporary’s Activity in the Last Two Decades,” Art News, Nov. 19, 1938, p. 12 (ill.), as Still-Life with Lemons, 1927.
California Palace of the Legion of Honor and M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, Seven Centuries of Painting: A Loan Exhibition of Old and Modern Masters, exh. cat. (California Palace of the Legion of Honor/M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, 1939), p. 53, cat. Y–184, as Still Life with Lemons, 1927.
Pierre Matisse Gallery, Henri-Matisse: Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings, 1898–1939, exh. cat. (Pierre Matisse Gallery, 1943), cat. 18, as Nature morte aux citrons, Nice, 1927.
Edward Alden Jewell, “With Accent on Modernism: Museum of Modern Art Presents ‘Realists and Magic Realists’ of America—Contemporary French Painters and Others,” New York Times, Feb. 14, 1943, p. X7 (ill.), as Still-Life with Lemons, Nice.
Valentine Gallery, Modern Paintings: The Lee Ault Collection, exh. cat. (Valentine Gallery, 1944), cat. 28 (ill.), as Citrons, 1927.
Henry Clifford and Henri Matisse, Henri Matisse: Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture, Organized in Collaboration with the Artist, exh. cat. (Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1948), pp. 40, cat. 69; n. pag., no. 69 (ill.), as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1927.
Clement Greenberg, “On Critics and Greenberg: Reply,” Partisan Review 15, no. 6 (June 1948), pp. 685–86, as Lemons on Pewter Plate, 1927.
Christopher E. Fremantle, “Matisse in Philadelphia,” Studio136, 666 (Sept. 1948), p. 95, as Lemons on a Plate.
Museum of Modern Art, Henri Matisse, exh. cat., introduction by Alfred H. Barr, Jr. (Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1951), p. 10, cat. 60, as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, (1927).
Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Matisse: His Art and His Public (Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1951), pp. 27 (ill.), 215, 450 (ill.), 451, as Lemons on a Pewter Plate (Citrons sur plat d’étain), (1927).
Henri Matisse, exh. cat., introduction by Alfred H. Barr, Jr. (Los Angeles Municipal Art Department, 1952), p. 12, cat. 38, as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, (1927).
UNESCO, Catalogue de reproductions en couleurs de peintures—1860 a [sic] 1959: Catalogue of Colour Reproductions of Paintings—1860 to 1959: Catalogo de reproducciones en color de pinturas—1860 a 1959, 5th ed. (UNESCO, 1959), pp. 236, cat. 638; 237, fig. 638, as Citrons sur un plat d’étain/Lemons on a Pewter Plate/Limones en Bandeja de Estaño, 1927.
Lawrence Gowing, Henri Matisse: 64 Paintings, exh. cat. (Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1966), pp. 47 (ill.); 62, cat. 47, as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, (1927).
Jean Leymarie, “The Painting of Matisse,” trans. Caroline Lumley, in UCLA Arts Council and UCLA Art Galleries, Henri Matisse: Retrospective 1966, exh. cat. (University of California Press, 1966), p. 16, no. 65.
UCLA Arts Council and UCLA Art Galleries, “Reproductions of the Paintings” and “Catalogue of the Exhibition,” in Henri Matisse: Retrospective 1966, exh. cat. (University of California Press, 1966), pp. 94 (ill.); 190, cat. 65, as Lemons on a Pewter Plate/Citrons sur plat d’étain, (1927).
Jean Guichard-Meili, Matisse (Frederick A. Praeger, 1967), p. 233, as Lemons on a Pewter Plate.
Matisse, 1869–1954: A Retrospective Exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, exh. cat., foreword by Gabriel White and an introduction by Lawrence Gowing (Arts Council of Great Britain, 1968), pp. 128 (ill.); 165, cat. 100, as Lemons on a Pewter Plate/Citrons sur plat d’étain, 1927.
Lyman Allyn Museum, Paintings and Sculpture from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Cummings, exh. cat. (Lyman Allyn Museum, 1968), n. pag., as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1927.
Selections from the Nathan Cummings Collection, exh. cat., introduction by Douglas Cooper and catalogue notes by Carol Cutler (National Gallery of Art, 1970), p. 45, cat. 31 (ill.), as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1927.
Summer Loan 1971, Paintings from New York Private Collections: Nathan Cummings Collection, exh. cat., introduction by Thomas Hoving (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1971), p. 7, cat. 44, as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1927.
Massimo Carrà, “Catalogo delle opera,” in Mario Luzi and Massimo Carrà, L’opera di Matisse dalla rivolta ‘fauve’ all’intimismo, 1904–1928, Classici dell’Arte 49 (Rizzoli Editore, 1971), p. 104, cat. 449 (ill.), as Limoni su un piatto di stagno, 1927. Translated as “Documentation: Catalogue des œuvres,” in Tout l’œuvre peint de Matisse, 1904–1928, ed. Xavier Deryng, Les Classiques de l’Art (Flammarion, 1982), pp. 104–05, cat. 449 (ill.), as Citrons sur plat d’étain, 1927.
John Maxon, Major Works from the Collection of Nathan Cummings, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, 1973), pp. 7; 37, cat. 28 (ill.), as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1927.
Nicholas Watkins, Matisse (Phaidon Press, 1977), pp. 15, no. 34; pl. 34, as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1927.
Jack Cowart and Dominique Fourcade, “Album of Colorplates” and “Concordance,” in Henri Matisse: The Early Years in Nice, 1916–1930, exh. cat. (National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC/Harry N. Abrams, 1986), pp. 182, pl. 136; 334, as Les citrons au plat d’étain, 1926.
Dominique Fourcade, Jack Cowart, and Marla Price, “Catalogue,” in Jack Cowart and Dominique Fourcade, Henri Matisse: The Early Years in Nice, 1916–1930, exh. cat. (National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC/Harry N. Abrams, 1986), p. 324, cat. 149, as Les citrons au plat d’étain/Lemons on a Pewter Plate, Nice, place Charles-Félix, 1926.
Guy-Patrice Dauberville and Michel Dauberville, Matisse: Henri Matisse chez Bernheim-Jeune, vol. 2 (Éditions Bernheim-Jeune, 1995), pp. 1256, cat. 661 (ill.); 1443; 1466, as Les citrons.
Christie’s New York, The Collection of the Late Joanne Toor Cummings (Christie’s New York, 1996), front cover (detail), n. pag., as Les citrons au plat d’étain, Nice, 1926.
Xavier Girard, Matisse à Nice: 1917–1954 (Éditions Assouline, 1996), pp. 33 (ill.), 76 (ill.).
“A Tradition of Elegance and Patronage,” Christie’s International Magazine 13, no. 3 (Apr. 1996), pp. 20, 22 (ill.), as Les citrons au plat d’étain, Nice, Place Charles-Félix, 1926.
Christie’s New York, Important Impressionist and Modern Paintings and Sculpture from the Collection of the Late Joanne Toor Cummings, sale cat. (Christie’s New York, Apr. 30, 1996), pp. 15; 40, lot 26; 41 (foldout ill., flap detail); 42; 43 (ill.), as Les citrons au plat d’étain, 1926.
Christie’s New York, Impressionist and Modern Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture (Part I), sale cat. (Christie’s New York, Apr. 30, 1996), pp. 66, lot 26; 67 (foldout ill., flap detail), as Les citrons au plat d’étain, 1926.
David Ebony, “Front Page: Spring Auctions Hold Steady,” Art in America 84, 7 (July 1996), p. 25, as Lemons in a Pewter Dish, 1926.
Richard Brettell, An Impressionist Legacy: The Collection of Sara Lee Corporation (Abbeville Press, 1997), front cover (ill.), pp. 100 (ill.), 101, 102 (detail), 103 (detail), 158 (ill.), 159, as Lemons on a Pewter Plate (Les citrons au plat d’etain [sic]), 1926.
Alan G. Artner, “Sara Lee Takes Its Art to New Level,” Chicago Tribune, June 3, 1998, p. 1 (ill.), as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1926.
Della de Lafuente, “Art Institute Scores in Sara Lee Giveaway,” Chicago Sun-Times, June 3, 1998, pp. 1 (ill.), 2, as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1926.
Judith H. Dobrzynski, “Sara Lee Is Donating Impressionist Art to 20 U.S. Museums,” New York Times, late ed. (June 3, 1998), pp. A1 (ill.), E4 [early edition, pp. A1 (ill.), B8], as Lemons on a Pewter Plate.
Richard R. Brettell, Monet to Moore: The Millennium Gift of Sara Lee Corporation, exh. cat. (Yale University Press, 1999), pp. xviii, fig. 17; 106, cat. 29; 107 (ill.); 108 (ill.); 109–10; 110, n. 6; 111, n. 17 (detail), as Lemons on a Pewter Plate (Les Citrons au plat d’etain [sic]), 1926 (between July and October), reworked 1929.
John O’Brian, Ruthless Hedonism: The American Reception of Matisse (University of Chicago Press, 1999), p. 188, as Lemons on Pewter Plate, 1926.
North Carolina Museum of Art, “Monet to Moore: the Millenium Gift of Sara Lee Corporation,” Preview and Calendar of Events (Sept./Oct. 1999), pp. 5, 6 (ill.), as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1926, reworked 1929.
Jean Monneret, Catalogue raisonné du Salon des Indépendants, 1884–2000: Les Indépendants dans l’histoire de l’art (Salon des Indépendants, 2000), p. 206, as Nature morte (citrons, plat d’étain).
James N. Wood and Debra N. Mancoff, Treasures from the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2000), p. 267 (ill.), as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1926 and 1929.
Christie’s London, Impressionist and Modern Art, sale cat. (Christie’s London, June 25, 2001), p. 98, fig. 1, as Les citrons au plat d’etain [sic], 1926.
Brigitte Jacobs van Renswou, “Dokumentation,” Sediment: Mitteilungen zur Geschichte des Kunsthandels 11, Thannhauser: Händler, Sammler, Stifter (2006), p. 50, Dok. 2.11 (ill.).
Ann Slavick, Hour Chicago: Twenty-Five Self-Guided 60-minutes Tours of Chicago’s Great Architecture and Art (Ivan R. Dee, 2008), p. 167, as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1926.
Stephanie D’Alessandro, The Age of Picasso and Matisse: Modern Masters from the Art Institute of Chicago, with contributions by Renée DeVoe Mertz, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago/Kimbell Art Museum, 2013), pp. [2] (ill.), [4], 78 (ill.), as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1926 (reworked in 1929).
Christie’s New York, A Dialogue through Art: Works from the Jan Krugier Collection, sale cat. (Christie’s New York, Nov. 4, 2013), p. 201, fig. 4, as Les Citrons au plat d’étain, 1926.
Stephanie D’Alessandro, with contributions by Renée DeVoe Mertz, The Age of Picasso and Matisse: Modern Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago/Yale University Press, 2014), pp. [2] (ill.), [4], 78 (ill.), as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1926 (reworked in 1929).
“Lemons on a Pewter Plate,” in Matisse Paintings, Works on Paper, Sculpture, and Textiles at the Art Institute of Chicago, ed. Stephanie D’Alessandro (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2019), cat. 39, https://publications.artic.edu/matisse/reader/works/section/77/77_anchor.

Paris, Palais de Bois, Société des “Artistes Indépendants”: 37e Exposition, Mar. 20–May 2, 1926, cat. 1664, as Nature morte (citrons, plat d’étain).
Berlin, Galerien Thannhauser, Henri Matisse, Feb. 15–Mar. 19, 1930, cat. 56 (ill.), as Zitronenstilleben.
Basel, Kunsthalle, Henri-Matisse, Aug. 9–Sept. 15, 1931, cat. 78, as Les Citrons au plat d’étain, 1924.
Paris, Petit Palais, Les maîtres de l’art indépendant, 1895–1937, June–Oct. 1937, cat. 46, as Les Citrons, 1927.
New York, Pierre Matisse Gallery, Henri Matisse: Paintings, Drawings of 1918 to 1938, Nov. 15–Dec. 10, 1938, cat. 2, as Still Life with Lemons, 1927.
Possibly New York, French Pavilion, New York World’s Fair, 1939.
San Francisco, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, and M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, Seven Centuries of Painting: A Loan Exhibition of Old and Modern Masters, Dec. 29, 1939–Jan. 28, 1940, cat. Y–184, as Still Life with Lemons, 1927 (M. H. de Young Memorial Museum only).
New York, Pierre Matisse Gallery, Henri-Matisse: Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings, 1898–1939, Feb. 9–27, 1943, cat. 18, as Nature morte aux citrons, 1927.
New York, Valentine Gallery, Modern Paintings: The Lee Ault Collection, Apr. 10–29, 1944, cat. 28 (ill.), as Citrons, 1927.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Henri Matisse: Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture, Apr. 3–May 10, 1948, cat. 69 (ill.), as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1927.
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Henri Matisse, Nov. 13, 1951–Jan. 13, 1952, cat. 60, as Lemons on a Pewter Plate (1927); Cleveland Museum of Art, Feb. 5–Mar. 16, 1952; Art Institute of Chicago, Apr. 1–May 4, 1952; San Francisco Museum of Art, May 22–July 6, 1952.
Los Angeles Municipal Art Department, Henri Matisse, July 24–Aug. 17, 1952, cat. 38, as Lemons on a Pewter Plate (1927).
Los Angeles, UCLA Art Galleries, Henri Matisse Retrospective 1966, Jan. 5–Feb. 27, 1966, cat. 65 (ill.), as Lemons on a Pewter Plate/Citrons sur plat d’étain (1927); Art Institute of Chicago, Mar. 11–Apr. 24, 1966; Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, May 11–June 26, 1966.
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Henri Matisse: 64 Paintings, July 19–Sept. 25, 1966, cat. 47 (ill.), as Lemons on a Pewter Plate (1927).
New London, CT, Lyman Allyn Museum, Paintings and Sculpture from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Cummings, Jan. 19–Feb. 18, 1968, no cat. no., as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1927.
London, Hayward Gallery, Matisse, 1869–1954: A Retrospective Exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, July 11–Sept. 8, 1968, cat. 100 (ill.), as Lemons on a Pewter Plate/Citrons sur plat d’étain, 1927.
Washington, DC, National Gallery of Art, Selections from the Nathan Cummings Collection, June 28–Sept. 11, 1970, cat. 31 (ill.), as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1927; New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 1–Sept. 7, 1971, as Summer Loan 1971, Paintings from New York Private Collections: Nathan Cummings Collection, cat. 44, as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1927.
Art Institute of Chicago, Major Works from the Collection of Nathan Cummings, Oct. 20–Dec. 9, 1973, cat. 28 (ill.), as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1927.
Washington, DC, National Gallery of Art, Henri Matisse: The Early Years at Nice, 1916–1930, Nov. 2, 1986–Mar. 29, 1987, cat. 149 (ill.), as Les citrons au plat d’étain/Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1926.
Laren, the Netherlands, Singer Memorial Foundation, The Sara Lee Collection: An Impressionist Legacy, Oct. 18, 1997–Feb. 15, 1998, no cat.
Singapore Museum of Art, Monet to Moore: The Millennium Gift of Sara Lee Corporation, Apr. 1–May 30, 1999, cat. 29 (ill.), as Lemons on a Pewter Plate (Les Citrons au plat d’etain) [sic], 1926 (between July and October), reworked 1929; Canberra, National Gallery of Australia, June 11–Aug. 22, 1999; Raleigh, North Carolina Museum of Art, Sept. 10–Nov. 7, 1999; Portland Art Museum, Nov. 19, 1999–Jan. 23, 2000; Art Institute of Chicago, Mar. 13–May 28, 2000.
Fort Worth, Kimbell Art Museum, The Age of Picasso and Matisse: Modern Masters from the Art Institute of Chicago, Oct. 6, 2013–Feb. 16, 2014, no cat. no. (ill.), as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1926 (reworked in 1929).
Baltimore, Md., Baltimore Museum of Art, Matisse/Diebenkorn, Oct. 23, 2016–January 29, 2017, no cat. no., pl. 21 (ill.) as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1926, reworked 1929; San Francisco, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, March 11-May 29, 2017.
Frankfurt am Main, Städel Museum, Matisse - Bonnard: Long Live Painting!, cat. 42 (ill.) as Lemons on a Pewter Plate, 1926/1929, Sep. 13, 2017–Jan. 14, 2018.

The artist, to at least Sep. 15, 1931 [Basel 1931]; Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, probably acquired directly from the artist, by Nov. 15, 1938 [New York 1938, exh. cat.]; Lee A. Ault (Sep. 30, 1915–Apr. 7, 1996) and Dorothy Smith Ault (née Nov. 19, 1916; married 1935, divorced by 1958), New Canaan, CT, and New York; later Lee A. Ault and Isabel Henry Ault (June 11, 1912–Nov. 7, 1989; married 1958, divorced 1977), New York, Apr. 27, 1942; sold to Nathan Cummings (Oct. 14, 1896–Feb. 19, 1985) and Joanne Toor Cummings (née Joanne Ruth Toor, Nov. 2, 1928–Sep. 19, 1995), New York, Chicago, and Palm Beach, FL, Apr. 2, 1965 [Nathan Cummings inventory card; photocopy in curatorial file]; given to Joanne Toor Cummings by June 30, 1976; by descent to Joanne Toor Cummings Estate, New York, Sep. 19, 1995; purchased from Christie’s, New York sale Apr. 30, 1996, lot 26, by Sara Lee Corporation, Chicago, Apr. 30, 1996; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, Oct. 11, 1999.

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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.

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