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Collections

Vincent van Gogh
The Postman Joseph Roulin1888

Not on view
Drawing in brown ink with tan wash on cream paper, full-figure portrait of a bearded seated man wearing a flat postal cap lettered 'POSTES,' rendered in bold hatching strokes
Artist or Maker
Vincent van Gogh
Holland, Zundert, 1853-1890
Title
The Postman Joseph Roulin
Place Made
France, Arles
Date Made
1888
Medium
Ink and graphite on paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 20 1/4 × 16 5/8 in. (51.44 × 42.23 cm) Frame: 31 1/8 × 26 5/8 × 1 3/4 in. (79.06 × 67.63 × 4.45 cm)
Credit Line
George Gard De Sylva Collection
Accession Number
M.49.17.1
Classification
Drawings
Collecting Area
Prints and Drawings
Provenance

Johanna van Gogh-Bonger (Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1862-1925), by descent from the artist, until November 1910: Kunstsalon Paul Cassirer (Berlin, Germany, active c. 1901-1937), 1910 [n.1]: Sold Kunstsalon Paul Cassirer, III. Ausstellung (November 1910, No. 62): Hermann Freudenberg (Nikolassee, Berlin, Germany), November 1910: Jacques Seligmann & Co. (Paris and New York, active 1880-1978), until 1938: George Gard "Buddy" de Sylva, March 22, 1938 (#1538): to LACMA, 1949.

[n. 1] It is unlikely that the drawing ever left the Kunstsalon Paul Cassirer, however previous descriptions of the drawing's provenance have noted that it may have passed by descent to Tilla Durieux Cassirer (Berlin, Germany, 1880-1971, wife of Paul Cassirer), and Hans Paret (Berlin, Germany, 1896-1973, son-in-law of Paul Cassirer). Rather, the drawing almost certainly moved directly from the Kunstsalon Paul Cassirer into the collection of Hermann Freudenberg in 1910.

Selected Bibliography
  • Seldis, Henry J. "West Coast Milestone." Art in America 53, no.2 (1965): 92-109.
  • Loucheim, Aline B. "Buddy de Sylva: Gift to Hollywood." ARTnews 45, no.7 (1946): 28-33, 53.