Return to Sources, Dealers, and Collectors
Short-necked Lute (Sarinda or Saroz). India, south. Bengal, India. Wood; H. 24 3/16 x W. 7 x D. 5 in. (H. 61.47 x W. 17.78 x D. 12.7 cm). Lute: The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago (1668.143956); Photograph: Charles Sheeler, 1918, Gelatin silver print, plate XI from the album African Negro Wood Scupture. Archives de Zayas, Seville
This work was originally sourced by Paris-based dealer Paul Guillaume. It was then sold by New York–based dealer Marius de Zayas to John Quinn.
Figure: Male. Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kasongo, between the Lukuga and Kuika Rivers. Kusu or northern Luba peoples. Wood, paint; H. 19 3/4 x W. 8 x D. 8 1/2 in. (H. 50.17 x W. 20.32 x D. 21.59 cm). The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
This work was originally sourced by Paris-based dealer Charles Vignier.It was then sold by New York–based dealer Marius de Zayas to John Quinn.
Face Mask (Kpeliye'e), 19th–early 20th century (before 1913). Côte d'Ivoire, possibly Korhogo region. Senufo peoples. Wood; H. 13 5/16 x W. 7 5/16 x D. 3 9/16 in. (33.8 x 18.5 x 9 cm). The University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia
This work was originally sourced by Paris-based dealer Joseph Brummer. It was then sold by New York-based dealer Robert J. Coady to John Quinn.
Figure: Female. Guinea. Baga peoples. Wood; H. 18 11/16 x W. 5 3/8 x D. 4 15/16 in. (H. 47.5 x W. 13.6 x D. 12.5 cm). Figure: University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia (AF 5374); Photograph: Charles Sheeler, 1919, Gelatin silver print, plate XIII of the John Quinn Album of African Art. The Lane Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (L-R 2689.2001)
Maiden Mask, 19th–early 20th century (before 1922). Nigeria, Igbo peoples. Wood, pigment; H. 17 1/2 in. (44.4 cm). The University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia
This work was originally sourced by dealer Joseph Brummer.
Mask (mukudj). Gabon, Punu peoples. Wood, pigment; H. 11 1/4 x W. 7 1/16 x D. 5 1/2 in. (28.5 x 18 x 14 cm). Mask: University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia (AF 5366); Photograph: Charles Sheeler, 1919, Gelatin silver print, plate XXIV of the John Quinn Album of African Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Anonymous Lender (L-R 2689.2001)
John Quinn (1870–1924), a New York lawyer and patron of the avant-garde, assembled the most important private American collection of African art before 1924. An active collector of European and American modern artists (at the time of his death, his holdings numbered more than two thousand works by the most adventurous modern masters), he turned to African art for what he saw as its role in influencing the course of recent art history. He acquired works from 291, the Modern Gallery, De Zayas Gallery, Washington Square Gallery, and the Brummer Gallery.