Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Paul Viaud, Taussat, Arcachon1900

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Artist or Maker: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
France, also active Austria, 1864-1901
Title: Paul Viaud, Taussat, Arcachon
Culture: French
Date Made: 1900
Medium: Oil on board
Dimensions: 31 1/8 × 15 7/8 in. (79.06 × 40.32 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of A. Jerrold Perenchio
Accession Number: M.2025.64.47
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture
Curatorial Notes: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec struggled with addiction and alcoholism, and in early 1899 he suffered a breakdown that ended in his committal to a clinic for nearly three months. While he continued to paint, he never fully recovered. Around this time, his mother hired a series of caregivers, most of whom were unable to control his behavior until his longtime friend Christophe “Paul” Viaud (1846−1946) took on the role of minder. A native of Bordeaux, Viaud was a sailor who had earned the nickname “Admiral.” He and his charge traveled constantly from the summer of 1899 until the artist’s death from syphilis in September 1901 at the age of thirty-six. They spent time away from Paris, mainly in Bordeaux and the coastal towns along the Archachon Bay like Taussat-les-Bains, where this portrait was made.

Viaud’s introspective pose, coupled with the delicate paint handling and gentle palette, suggest a warmth and tenderness that contrast with Lautrec’s bold, synthetic depictions of the entertainers and prostitutes who strutted the hill of Montmartre. The compositional layout and degree of finish emphasize the quiet power of this man of the sea, with his trademark sailing cap, rolled-up pants, and bare feet. The diagonal line of the bright red roof draws the viewer’s eye to Viaud’s pensive face, on which the artist lavished the most attention. This is one of several portraits that Lautrec dedicated to his dear friend.

2024
Provenance: Paul Viaud (Christophe “Paul” Viaud, 1846–1906), Bordeaux, by 14 May 1902.(1) Marcel Guérin (1873–1948), Paris, by 15 June 1914 to c. May 1931. Antonio Santamarina (1880–1974), Buenos Aires, possibly from 1930s (sale, London, Sotheby’s, 2 April 1974, to);(2) [Hoparfina, SA., Switzerland].(3) European Private Collector (sale, London, Sotheby’s, 1 July 1980, lot 7, to);(4,5) [Acquavella Galleries, Inc., New York, sold 12 January 1981 to];(5) The Mattie K. Carter Trust, Fort Worth, TX, sold 3 March 1987 to;6 [Acquavella Galleries, Inc., New York, for];(5) A. J. Perenchio (1930–2017), Los Angeles, gifted 2025 to; Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Footnotes
(1) According to Smague, Toulouse-Lautrec en vacances, 38–39, the subject was Christophe Viaud (1846–1906), called Paul by his family. Viaud, a family friend, also owned at least three other works by Toulouse-Lautrec, all exhibited at Durand-Ruel in 1902: Portrait de Mme M[arthe?] de V[iaud?] (no. 33), La blanchisseuse (no. 79), and L’enfant au chien [le fils de Mme Marthe et la chienne Paméla] (no. 96).
(2) Antonio Santamarina was an Argentine cattle rancher and politician whose collection of Impressionist and modern paintings, formed between 1895 and the 1930s, was considered one of the best in South America. See Michel Strauss, Pictures, Passions and Eye: A Life at Sotheby’s (London: Halban, 2011), pp. 220–24. In addition to this Toulouse-Lautrec, Santamarina owned cat. 42.
(3) According to Sotheby’s, Hoparfina, SA. was registered in Switzerland and was a dealer (email to Patricia Teter-Schneider, 12 May 2015).
(4) According to Sotheby’s, this painting was consigned by a dealer in 1980 but was a different dealer than the one who bought the picture from Sotheby’s London, 2 April 1974 (email to Patricia Teter-Schneider, 12 May 2015).
(5) According to Acquavella Galleries they purchased the painting at Sotheby’s London 1 July 1980 sale and later sold the painting to The Mattie K. Carter Trust on 12 January 1981. In August 1986, The Mattie K. Carter Trust consigned the painting to Acquavella and the painting was sold to A. J. Perenchio on 3 March 1987 (email to Casie Kesterson, 27 August 2015).
Selected Bibliography: Lehmbeck, Leah, ed. Impressionist and Modern Art: The A. Jerrold Perenchio Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich: DelMonico Books/Prestel, 2016.
Copyright: photo © Fredrik Nilsen

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Paul Viaud, Taussat, Arcachon1900

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Artist or Maker: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
France, also active Austria, 1864-1901
Title: Paul Viaud, Taussat, Arcachon
Culture: French
Date Made: 1900
Medium: Oil on board
Dimensions: 31 1/8 × 15 7/8 in. (79.06 × 40.32 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of A. Jerrold Perenchio
Accession Number: M.2025.64.47
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture
Curatorial Notes: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec struggled with addiction and alcoholism, and in early 1899 he suffered a breakdown that ended in his committal to a clinic for nearly three months. While he continued to paint, he never fully recovered. Around this time, his mother hired a series of caregivers, most of whom were unable to control his behavior until his longtime friend Christophe “Paul” Viaud (1846−1946) took on the role of minder. A native of Bordeaux, Viaud was a sailor who had earned the nickname “Admiral.” He and his charge traveled constantly from the summer of 1899 until the artist’s death from syphilis in September 1901 at the age of thirty-six. They spent time away from Paris, mainly in Bordeaux and the coastal towns along the Archachon Bay like Taussat-les-Bains, where this portrait was made.

Viaud’s introspective pose, coupled with the delicate paint handling and gentle palette, suggest a warmth and tenderness that contrast with Lautrec’s bold, synthetic depictions of the entertainers and prostitutes who strutted the hill of Montmartre. The compositional layout and degree of finish emphasize the quiet power of this man of the sea, with his trademark sailing cap, rolled-up pants, and bare feet. The diagonal line of the bright red roof draws the viewer’s eye to Viaud’s pensive face, on which the artist lavished the most attention. This is one of several portraits that Lautrec dedicated to his dear friend.

2024
Provenance: Paul Viaud (Christophe “Paul” Viaud, 1846–1906), Bordeaux, by 14 May 1902.(1) Marcel Guérin (1873–1948), Paris, by 15 June 1914 to c. May 1931. Antonio Santamarina (1880–1974), Buenos Aires, possibly from 1930s (sale, London, Sotheby’s, 2 April 1974, to);(2) [Hoparfina, SA., Switzerland].(3) European Private Collector (sale, London, Sotheby’s, 1 July 1980, lot 7, to);(4,5) [Acquavella Galleries, Inc., New York, sold 12 January 1981 to];(5) The Mattie K. Carter Trust, Fort Worth, TX, sold 3 March 1987 to;6 [Acquavella Galleries, Inc., New York, for];(5) A. J. Perenchio (1930–2017), Los Angeles, gifted 2025 to; Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Footnotes
(1) According to Smague, Toulouse-Lautrec en vacances, 38–39, the subject was Christophe Viaud (1846–1906), called Paul by his family. Viaud, a family friend, also owned at least three other works by Toulouse-Lautrec, all exhibited at Durand-Ruel in 1902: Portrait de Mme M[arthe?] de V[iaud?] (no. 33), La blanchisseuse (no. 79), and L’enfant au chien [le fils de Mme Marthe et la chienne Paméla] (no. 96).
(2) Antonio Santamarina was an Argentine cattle rancher and politician whose collection of Impressionist and modern paintings, formed between 1895 and the 1930s, was considered one of the best in South America. See Michel Strauss, Pictures, Passions and Eye: A Life at Sotheby’s (London: Halban, 2011), pp. 220–24. In addition to this Toulouse-Lautrec, Santamarina owned cat. 42.
(3) According to Sotheby’s, Hoparfina, SA. was registered in Switzerland and was a dealer (email to Patricia Teter-Schneider, 12 May 2015).
(4) According to Sotheby’s, this painting was consigned by a dealer in 1980 but was a different dealer than the one who bought the picture from Sotheby’s London, 2 April 1974 (email to Patricia Teter-Schneider, 12 May 2015).
(5) According to Acquavella Galleries they purchased the painting at Sotheby’s London 1 July 1980 sale and later sold the painting to The Mattie K. Carter Trust on 12 January 1981. In August 1986, The Mattie K. Carter Trust consigned the painting to Acquavella and the painting was sold to A. J. Perenchio on 3 March 1987 (email to Casie Kesterson, 27 August 2015).
Selected Bibliography: Lehmbeck, Leah, ed. Impressionist and Modern Art: The A. Jerrold Perenchio Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich: DelMonico Books/Prestel, 2016.