This haunting figure is an expression of the primitivizing style Picasso developed in 1908, about a year after he first began to incorporate non-European pictorial elements into his work. As with many of his paintings, this canvas was used multiple times: there are at least three other pictures beneath the surface.

Signature: Signed, upper left: ¦Picasso¦

Leo and Gertrude Stein, Paris (ca. 1908–13/14; acquired from the artist); [Galerie Kahnweiler, Paris, by 1914, stock no. 1888; sequestered Kahnweiler stock, Paris, 1914–21; sale, "Vente de biens allemands ayant fait l'objet d'une mesure de Séquestre de Guerre: Collection Henry Kahnweiler [sic], Tableaux Moderne, deuxième vente," Hôtel Drouot, Paris, November 17–18, 1921, no. 197, for 1,800 francs, through Léonce Rosenberg, to Roché]; Henri-Pierre Roché, Paris (1921–26; consigned to Galerie Vavin-Raspail, Paris, November 14, 1925; sold January 4, 1926, for 17,500 francs, probably to Loeb); [Galerie Pierre (Pierre Loeb), Paris, probably acquired in 1926, until at least 1932]; Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., New York and Warrenton, Virginia (by 1936, until at least 1942); [Gimpel Fils, London, by 1954, until 1955; sold on January 24 for $22,800 to Marx]; Samuel and Florene Marx, Chicago (1955–his d. 1964); Florene May Marx, later Mrs. Wolfgang Schoenborn, New York (1964–d. 1995; on extended loan to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, from 1971; on extended loan to MMA from 1985; her bequest to MMA, 1995)

France: Musee Picasso, October 15, 1998 - January 15, 1999. ¦Picasso: 1901 - 1909¦.

AC, The Magazine Produced by GATEPAC, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, October 21, 2008- December 29, 2008.

Kunsthaus Zürich. "Picasso. His First Museum Exhibition 1932," October 15, 2010–January 30, 2011, no. 13.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. "The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant Garde," May 21–September 6, 2011, no. 243.

Paris. Grand Palais, Galeries nationales. "Matisse, Cézanne, Picasso... L'aventure des Stein," October 5, 2011–January 16, 2012, no. 136.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant Garde," February 21–June 3, 2012, no. 243.

Grace Glueck. "A Surprise, and Then a Collection." New York Times (February 28, 1997), p. C31.

Janet Bishop, Cécile Debray, and Rebecca Rabinow, eds. The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant Garde. Exh. cat., San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. San Francisco, 2011, pp. 275–76, colorpl. 222.

Robert McD. Parker in The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant Garde. Ed. Janet Bishop, Cécile Debray, and Rebecca Rabinow. Exh. cat., San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. San Francisco, 2011, pp. 431, 465, no. 243.

Robert McD. Parker and Maxime Touillet in The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant Garde. Ed. Janet Bishop, Cécile Debray, and Rebecca Rabinow. Exh. cat., San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. San Francisco, 2011, pl. 352 (installation photo).