Inscription: Signed (upper right): Klee; dated and numbered (upper left): 1925 E neun; inscribed (verso, upper stretcher bar): 1925 E neun kl Mädchen Bildnis in gelb Klee
the artist, Dessau (1925–33; sent on consignment in 1933 to Scheyer); [Galka Scheyer, Los Angeles, 1933–ca. 1943; sold ca. 1943, for $550, to Sisson]; Richard [Shaw] Sisson, Los Angeles and New York (ca. 1943–at least 1955); ?[E. V. Thaw & Co., New York]; Frederick C. Schang, South Norwalk, Conn. and New York (by 1957–at least 1967); Heinz Berggruen, Paris and Berlin (1970–84; his gift to MMA)
Brunswick. Schlossmuseum. "Paul-Klee-Ausstellung," January 10–February 14, 1926, no. 24 (as for sale, Mk. 500).
Kunsthaus Zürich. "Ausstellung," April 11–May 5,1926, no. 28 (as for sale, SFr 650).
Wiesbaden. Neues Museum and Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden. "August-Ausstellung 1926," August 1926, no. 21.
Oldenburg. Elisabethstrasse 2. "Vereinigung für junge Kunst," October 6–26, 1926, no catalogue.
Dresden. Galerie Ernst Arnold. "Sonderausstellung von 100 Gemälde und Aquarellen von Paul Klee aus den Jahren 1908–1926," November 1926, no catalogue (checklist no. 39).
Berlin. Landesausstellungsgebäude am Lehrter Bahnhof. "Grosse Berliner Kunstausstellung. Sonderausstellung, die Abstrakten: Feininger, Jawlensky, Kandinsky, Klee," May 7–September 30, 1927, no. 1143.
Los Angeles Museum. "The Blue Four: Feininger, Jawlensky, Kandinsky, Paul Klee," October 1933, no. 123 (as "Little Girl in Yellow").
Hollywood Gallery of Modern Art. "Paul Klee," July 31–August 1935, no catalogue.
Oakland Art Gallery. "Paul Klee," September 1–29, 1935, no catalogue.
Hollywood. Putzel Gallery. "Recent Pictures by Paul Klee," November 15–December 1937, no. 7.
Beverly Hills. Modern Institute of Art. "Klee: 30 Years of Paintings, Water Colors, Drawings and Lithographs by Paul Klee and in a Klee-Like-Mood: 2,000 Years of Coptic, Persian, Chinese, European and Peruvian Textiles," September 3–October 6, 1948, no. 4 (as "Little Girl with Yellow Hair," 1922, watercolor, lent by Mr. Richard Shaw) [possibly this picture; illustration is of "Portrait of a Boy," 1920, oil and watercolor, HR 2382].
Palm Beach, Fla. Society of the 4 Arts. "Paintings by Paul Klee, 1879–1940," March 9–April 1, 1951, no. 31 (as "Little Girl in Yellow," lent by Mr. Richard Sisson).
New York. Saidenberg Gallery. "Paul Klee," October 10–November 19, 1955, no. 18 (as "Kleines Maedchenbildnis in gelb [Portrait of a Little Girl in Yellow]," lent by Mr. Richard Sisson).
New York. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. "Paul Klee 1879–1940: A Retrospective Exhibition," February 17–April 30, 1967, no. 78 (as "Little Girl Picture in Yellow [Klein Mädchen Bildnis in Gelb]," lent by F. C. Schang, New York).
Paris. Berggruen et Cie. "Paul Klee. Les années 20," May–July 1971, no. 42.
Saint-Paul. Fondation Maeght. "Paul Klee," July 9–September 30, 1977, no. 68 (lent by a private collection, Paris).
Cologne. Kunsthalle. "Paul Klee. Das Werk der Jahre 1919–1933. Gemälde, Handzeichnungen, Druckgraphik," April 11–June 4, 1979, no. 161 (lent by a private collection, Zurich).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Paul Klee: The Berggruen Klee Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 6–July 31, 1988, unnumbered cat. (p. 208).
Kunsthalle Tübingen. "Paul Klee: Die Sammlung Berggruen im Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York und im Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris," January 22–April 16, 1989, unnumbered cat. (p. 219).
London. Tate Gallery. "Paul Klee: The Berggruen Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris," May 17–August 13, 1989, unnumbered cat. (p. 219).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Paul Klee: Of Men and Women," opened March 27, 1990, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Humor of Klee," May 14 or 15–October 4, 1992, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Late Klee," December 6, 1996–April 13, 1997, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Paul Klee: Figures and Faces," August 23–November 16, 1997, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Klee Paintings," September 14, 1999–March 12, 2000, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Klee Figures," October 5, 2001–March 10, 2002, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Klee Creatures," December 12, 2003–March 14, 2004, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Klee: The Late Years," March 19–June 27, 2004, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Klee: His Years at the Bauhaus (1921–1931)," November 19, 2004–April 3, 2005, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "XS," December 6, 2011–April 15, 2012, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Late Klee," October 18, 2012–March 31, 2013, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art [The Met Breuer]. "Humor and Fantasy: The Berggruen Paul Klee Collection," September 1, 2016–January 2, 2017, no catalogue.
Gualtieri di San Lazzaro. Klee: A Study of His Life and Work. New York, 1957, p. 292, ill. p. 96, as "Little Portrait of Girl in Yellow," in the collection of F. C. Schang, New York.
Paul Klee (1879–1940). Collection of F. C. Schang. New York, April 1, 1957, unpaginated brochure, no. 23, as "Little Girl Picture in Yellow".
Paul Klee (1879–1940). Collection of F. C. Schang. New York, April 1, 1959, unpaginated brochure, no. 19, as "Little Girl Picture in Yellow".
Jean-Louis Ferrier. Paul Klee: Les années 20. Paris, 1971, ill. p. 31 and n.p. (color and bw).
Daniel Abadie. Paul Klee. [Paris], 1977, p. 171, ill. p. 92 (color), lists it in a private collection, Paris.
Sabine Rewald. Paul Klee: The Berggruen Klee Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1988, pp. 208–9, 267, 284, 318, ill. (color and bw) and ill. p. 266 (verso, color), doubts that anyone posed for this picture since Klee did not use models after about 1915, adding that it is one of eighteen caricatures from 1925; notes that a painting of an architectural structure was discovered on the verso.
Ulrich Bischoff. Paul Klee. Munich, 1992, p. 64.
Josef Helfenstein and Christian Rümelin, ed. Paul Klee: Catalogue Raisonné. Ed. Paul Klee Foundation, Museum of Fine Arts, Berne. Vol. 4, 1923–1926. New York, 2000, pp. 359–60, no. 3830, ill.
Charles W. Haxthausen. "Zwischen Darstellung und Parodie: Klees 'auratische' Bilder." Paul Klee: Kunst und Karriere. Beiträge des Internationalen Symposiums in Bern. Ed. Oskar Bätschmann and Josef Helfenstein. Bern, 2000, p. 25 n. 96.
Bradford Epley and Christa Haiml inKlee and America. Ed. Josef Helfenstein and Elizabeth Hutton Turner. Exh. cat., Neue Galerie, New York. Houston, 2006, p. 260, note that the original frame remained on this painting when it entered the Berggruen collection.
Paul Klee was unrivaled among his contemporaries in his wide-ranging experimentation with materials and unconventional techniques. Join scholar Charles W. Haxthausen as he explores the variety of Klee’s practice and reflects on its art-historical implications.
Paul Klee (German (born Switzerland), Münchenbuchsee 1879–1940 Muralto-Locarno)
1921
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