This work is one of the largest and most highly finished sketches for a painting roughly twice its size, Nude Model in the Studio (1912–13; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York). Léger uses a series of curves to depict the volumes of a female nude standing in three-quarter profile, with her right arm bent behind her head. Léger considered this drawing important enough to exhibit at the annual Salon des Indépendants in spring 1913.
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Inscription: Signed and dated (lower right, in black ink): F.L. / 12
Nell Walden (née Nelly Anna Charlotta Roslund, later Nell Walden Heimann), Berlin (by 1927–54; her sale, Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett, Stuttgart, November 26, 1954, no. 1551, sold for DM 9,100, to an unidentified bidder); [Marlborough Fine Art Ltd., London, until 1955; sold on February 16, 1955 to Hillman]; Alex and Rita K. Hillman, New York (1955–his d. 1968; transferred on October 16, 1968 to The Alex Hillman Family Foundation); The Alex Hillman Family Foundation, New York (1968–2008; the foundation’s sale, Christie’s, New York, November 5, 2008, no. 5, sold to Lauder); Leonard A. Lauder, New York (2008–2013; transferred on April 8, 2013 to the Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Trust); The Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Trust, New York (2013–16; gift to MMA)
Paris. Quai d'Orsay. "Salon des Indépendants," March 19–May 18, 1913 (room 45).
Berlin. Galerie Alfred Flechtheim. "Nell Walden-Heimann und ihre Sammlungen," September 6–28, 1927, no. 92.
Berlin. Galerie Alfred Flechtheim. "Fernand Léger," February 6–March 2, 1928, no. 57.
Kunstmuseum Bern. "Der Sturm: Sammlung Nell Walden aus den Jahren 1912–1920," October 1944–March 1945, no. 336.
Kunsthaus Zürich. "Sammlungen Nell Walden und Dr. Othmar Huber: Expressionisten, Kubisten, Futuristen," May 19–June 17, 1945, extended to June 24, 1945, no. 105.
Stockholm. Riksförbundet för Bildande Konst. "Der Sturm: Samling Nell Walden; Expressionister, Futurister, Kubister," 1954, no. 50.
Laramie. Center for the Fine Arts, University of Wyoming. "Masterworks of the First Half of the Twentieth Century from the Alex Hillman Family Foundation," November 8–December 12, 1972, unnumbered cat.
Jacksonville, Fla. Jacksonville Art Museum. "The Alex Hillman Collection," October 18–December 2, 1973, no. 14.
Corpus Christi. Art Museum of South Texas. "The Alex Hillman Collection," December 13, 1973–January 27, 1974, no. 14.
Phoenix Art Museum. "Selections from the Alex Hillman Collection," January 17–February 23, 1975, no. 8.
David and Alfred Smart Gallery, University of Chicago. "Five Works by Modern French Painters from the Alex Hillman Family Foundation," October 8–December 14, 1975.
Roslyn Harbor, N. Y. Nassau County Museum of Fine Art. "Modern Masters: Paintings and Drawings from the Alex Hillman Family Foundation," December 19, 1977–February 12, 1978, no. 15.
New York. Jamaica Arts Center. "Drawings by Modern Masters from the Alex Hillman Family Foundation," March 1–April 16, 1978.
Austin. University Art Museum, University of Texas. "Selections from the Collection of the Alex Hillman Family Foundation," January 21–August 13, 1979.
New York. Grey Art Gallery, New York University. "Cézanne/Léger," February 25–April 7, 1980.
Ann Arbor. Museum of Art, University of Michigan. "Selections from the Collection of the Alex Hillman Family Foundation," September 19–December 15, 1980.
Joseloff Gallery, Hartford Art School, University of Hartford. "Modern Masters from the Collection of a New York Foundation in Celebration of the Charter Anniversary of the University of Hartford," October 15–November 21, 1981.
Oklahoma City. Oklahoma Museum of Art. "Selections from the Collection of the Alex Hillman Family Foundation," September 1–November 29, 1982.
Hunstville, Ala. Huntsville Museum of Art. "Selections from the Collection of the Alex Hillman Family Foundation," January 23–August 21, 1983.
Saint Petersburg, Fla. Museum of Art. "Selections from the Collection of the Alex Hillman Family Foundation," September 17, 1983–January 1, 1984.
Lawrence. Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas. "Selections from the Collection of the Alex Hillman Family Foundation," February 1–June 16, 1984.
Newark Museum. "Modern Masters: Impressionist and Modern Paintings from the Collections of the Alex Hillman Family Foundation and the Newark Museum," June 27–September 3, 1984.
Huntington, W. V. Huntington Galleries. "Selections from the Collection of the Alex Hillman Family Foundation," September 16, 1984–January 6, 1985.
Little Rock. Arkansas Arts Center. "Selections from the Collection of the Alex Hillman Family Foundation," February 3–March 24, 1985.
Williamsburg, Va. Joseph and Margaret Muscarelle Museum of Art, College of William and Mary. "Selections from the Collection of the Alex Hillman Family Foundation," May 11–August 11, 1985.
Ames, Ia. Brunnier Gallery and Museum, Iowa State University. "Selections from the Collection of the Alex Hillman Family Foundation," August 27–November 24, 1985.
Brooklyn Museum. "The Alex Hillman Family Foundation Collection: French Art of the 19th and 20th Centuries," February 15, 1986–January 6, 1987.
Brooklyn Museum. "Modern Masters: French Art from The Alex Hillman Family Foundation Collection," June 9–August 15, 1988, unnum. brochure.
Tucson. University of Arizona Museum of Art. "Paintings and Drawings from the Alex Hillman Family Foundation," October 20, 1991–March 15, 1992.
Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg. "Fernand Léger, 1911–1924: Der Rhythmus des modernen Lebens," May 29–August 14, 1994, no. 83.
Kunstmuseum Basel. "Fernand Léger, 1911–1924: Der Rhythmus des modernen Lebens," September 11–November 27, 1994, no. 83.
New York. Pierpont Morgan Library. "New York Collects: Drawings and Watercolors, 1900–1950," May 20–August 29, 1999, no. 32.
Charlottesville. University of Virginia Art Museum. "Fernand Leger: Contrasts of Form," January 19–March 18, 2007, no. 2.
Cambridge, Mass. Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University Art Museums. "Fernand Leger: Contrasts of Form," April 14–June 10, 2007, no. 2.
New York. Museum of Modern Art. "Inventing Abstraction, 1910–1925," December 23, 2012–April 15, 2013, no. 91.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Cubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection," October 20, 2014–February 16, 2015, no. 33.
Guillaume Apollinaire. "À travers le Salon des Indépendants." Montjoie! (March 18, 1913), ill. p. 3.
Nell Walden-Heimann und ihre Sammlungen. Exh. cat., Galerie Alfred Flechtheim. Berlin, 1927, p. 9, no. 92.
Alfred Flechtheim. Fernand Léger. Exh. cat., Galerie Alfred Flechtheim. Berlin, 1928, p. 14, no. 57.
Gemälde und Zeichnungen alter Meister, Kunsthandwerk aus Privatbesitz. Der Sturm: Sammlung Nell Walden aus den Jahren 1912–1920. Exh. cat., Kunstmuseum Bern. Bern, 1944, p. 55, no. 336.
Sammlungen Nell Walden und Dr. Othmar Huber: Expressionisten, Kubisten, Futuristen. Exh. cat., Kunsthaus Zürich. Zürich, 1945, p. 12, no. 105.
Francis Picabia. Sammlung Nell Walden. Exh. cat., Kunsthalle Basel. Basel, 1946, p. 18, no. 230.
Der Sturm: Samling Nell Walden; Expressionister, Futurister, Kubister. Exh. cat., Riksförbundet för Bildande Konst. Stockholm, 1954, p. 16, no. 50.
Henry A. La Farge. "Today's Collectors: Alex L. Hillman. Courbet to Dubuffet." Art News 58, no. 6 (October 1959), p. 34, fig. 7 (reproduced upside down).
Masterworks of the First Half of the Twentieth Century from the Alex Hillman Family Foundation. Exh. cat., Center of the Fine Arts, University of Wyoming. Laramie, 1972, unpaginated, ill.
The Alex Hillman Collection. Exh. cat., Jacksonville Art Museum. Jacksonville, 1973, unpaginated, no. 14, ill.
Selections from the Alex Hillman Collection. Exh. cat., Phoenix Art Museum. Phoenix, 1975, no. 8.
Angelica Zander Rudenstine. The Guggenheim Museum Collection. Vol. 2, Paintings 1880–1945. New York, 1976.
Angelica Zander Rudenstine. The Guggenheim Museum Collection: Paintings 1880–1945. New York, 1976, vol. 2, pp. 459–60, ill. p. 458, fig. b.
William P. Miller, Jr. Modern Masters: Paintings and Drawings from the Alex Hillman Family Foundation. Exh. cat., Nassau County Museum of Art. Roslyn Harbor, N. Y., 1977, unpaginated, no. 15, ill.
Robert Iglehart. "A Burst of Famous Names in Related Shows." Ann Arbor News (October 5, 1980), p. F-3.
Ann Dumas. "Outstanding Private Collection to Be Shown at Museum." Brooklyn Museum Newsletter (January–February 1986), p. 5.
Sarah Faunce. "Hillman Collection Exhibition Extended." Brooklyn Museum Newsletter (January–February 1987), p. 1.
Sarah Faunce. "Modern Masters: French Art from the Alex Hillman Family Foundation Collection." Brooklyn Museum Newsletter (June 1988), p. 1.
Sarah Faunce. Modern Masters French Art from the Alex Hillman Family Foundation Collection. Exh. brochure, Brooklyn Museum. Brooklyn, 1988, unpaginated.
Emily Braun. Manet to Matisse: The Hillman Family Collection. New York, 1994, p. 94, no. 26, ill. pp. 24 (installed in the exhibition "Five Works by Modern French Painters from the Alex Hillman Family Foundation," David and Alfred Smart Art Gallery, University of Chicago, 1975), 95.
Dorothy M. Kosinski, ed. Fernand Léger, 1911–1924: The Rhythm of Modern Life. Exh. cat., Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg. Munich, 1994, p. 246, no. 83, ill. p. 84.
Hélène Lassalle. Léger. Paris, 1997, ill. p. 14.
Emily Braun inNew York Collects: Drawings and Watercolors, 1900–1950. Exh. cat., Pierpont Morgan Library. New York, 1999, p. 94, no. 32, ill. p. 95.
Matthew Affron. Fernand Léger: Contrasts of Forms. Exh. cat., University of Virginia Art Museum. Charlottesville, 2007, pp. 5, 28, no. 2, ill. p. 29.
Maria Gough in Matthew Affron. Fernand Léger: Contrasts of Forms. Exh. cat., University of Virginia Art Museum. Charlottesville, 2007, p. 23.
Matthew Affron in Leah Dickerman. Inventing Abstraction, 1910–1925: How a Radical Idea Changed Modern Art. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art. New York, 2012, pp. 116, 121, pl. 91.
"Objects Promised to the Museum during the Year 2012–2013." The Metropolitan Museum of Art, One Hundred Forty-third Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2013 (2013), p. 46.
Matthew Affron inCubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection. Ed. Emily Braun and Rebecca Rabinow. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2014, pp. 91–92, no. 33, ill. p. 90 (color).
Anna Jozefacka and Luise Mahler inCubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection. Ed. Emily Braun and Rebecca Rabinow. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2014, pp. 267–69, fig. 33 (in Ref. Apollinaire 1913).
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