Provenance

Charles J. Wertheimer

Wertheimer collection, Charles

British, 1842 - 1911

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See all 20 works of art
Alfred André, Necklace and Pendant with a Sphinx, c. 1890, gold enameled in white, black, translucent red, blue, and green; 28 diamonds, 5 emeralds, 43 rubies, 37 pearls, Widener Collection, 1942.9.307

Necklace and Pendant with a Sphinx

Alfred André · c. 1890 · gold enameled in white, black, translucent red, blue, and green; 28 diamonds, 5 emeralds, 43 rubies, 37 pearls ·  Accession ID  1942.9.307

An elegantly dressed young woman, a little boy, girl, and a dog are gathered on a veranda in front of a sun-dappled landscape in this vertical portrait painting. All three people have pale skin with rosy cheeks. To our left, the woman sits facing us in front of a low, pewter-gray balustrade. She loosely embraces both children who lean onto her lap, to our right, as the shaggy, dark gray dog looks on. The woman has a slender, oval face, a long nose, rose-red lips, and hazel eyes that gaze just beyond our right shoulder. She wears a diaphanous, parchment-white gown belted at the waist and cinched at the elbow. Over the gown, a voluminous, dusty rose-pink mantle drapes over one shoulder and wraps around her hips and legs. Her dark gray hair is piled high on her head, and loosely painted strokes of garnet red suggest a scarf wrapped around the top. One long tendril loops over one shoulder. The boy closest to the woman rests his elbow along her lap so his body turns slightly away from her. His round face is framed by chestnut-brown curls and bangs, and he looks off to our right with blue eyes. He wears a cranberry-red jacket and breeches, with a gold and yellow striped vest. The wide collar of his white shirt is spread open, and one frilled cuff extends from the sleeve we can see. The woman holds the hand resting on her lap, and both she and the boy wrap their other arms around the little girl. The boy’s small fingers are tucked in at the back of the girl’s neck, just under the woman’s hand. The girl’s body turns as she leans into the boy, reaching one hand to grip his vest. Honey-blond curls frame her round face. She ducks her head as she looks to our right, a smile on her lips. She wears a cream-white gown belted with a celestial-blue sash. Facing away from us, the small dog sits and looks up at the trio. It has shaggy, charcoal-gray, tawny-brown, and white fur. Beyond the balustrade, tall trees covered in pine-green, gold, and brown leaves spread out on either side and recede toward hazy, lilac-purple mountains in the far distance.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, Lady Elizabeth Delmé and Her Children, 1777-1779, oil on canvas, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.95

Lady Elizabeth Delmé and Her Children

Sir Joshua Reynolds · 1777-1779 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1937.1.95

Alfred André, Pendant with a Centaur, 1885/1890, baroque pearl; gold enameled in black, white, pale blue, translucent red, green, and blue; 2 emeralds, 2 rubies, 1 piece of rock crystal or glass, 4 hanging pearls, 10 small pearls in the chain, Widener Collection, 1942.9.310

Pendant with a Centaur

Alfred André · 1885/1890 · baroque pearl; gold enameled in black, white, pale blue, translucent red, green, and blue; 2 emeralds, 2 rubies, 1 piece of rock crystal or glass, 4 hanging pearls, 10 small pearls in the chain ·  Accession ID  1942.9.310

A dilapidated cottage nestles among leafy trees next to a winding dirt road in this square landscape painting. The dirt road runs from the bottom center of the painting into the distance. The cottage sits to the right of the road, encircled by a low, rustic fence. There are holes in the roof, and the whole building leans a bit to our left. The wall we can see has areas of gray, mustard yellow, and brick red, and some panels and windows are missing. Other windows have diamond-shaped panes. Gnarled sage and olive-green trees and scrubby dark green underbrush surround the hut and grow on the other side of the road, to our left. Trees on the far side of the cottage form a line between it and a spring-green lawn that leads back to a butter-yellow house. A woman and child stand in the road facing us as a thin, light brown dog scampers in our direction. The woman holds a rust-orange bundle in her arms. Further up the road, a man on horseback rides away from the woman and child toward the yellow house. Dark gray and white clouds drift in a powder-blue sky overhead.
Meindert Hobbema, Hut among Trees, c. 1664, oil on canvas, Widener Collection, 1942.9.30

Hut among Trees

Meindert Hobbema · c. 1664 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1942.9.30

This is a small pendant featuring a mermaid figure adorned with jewels. The mermaid is holding a small mirror in one hand, with her other hand resting on her head. Her upper body is adorned with gold details, while her lower half transitions into a scaled, fish-like tail. The tail is embellished with various colorful gemstones such as red and blue, and pearls are suspended from the the bottom and top of the pendant.
Alfred André, Pendant with a Mermaid, 1885/1890, baroque pearl; gold enameled in white, black, pale blue, translucent blue, red, and green; 14 diamonds, 10 rubies, 9 pearls, Widener Collection, 1942.9.308

Pendant with a Mermaid

Alfred André · 1885/1890 · baroque pearl; gold enameled in white, black, pale blue, translucent blue, red, and green; 14 diamonds, 10 rubies, 9 pearls ·  Accession ID  1942.9.308

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Covered Cup

Anonymous Artist · 1875/1900 · rock crystal, enameled gold, 4 diamonds, ruby ·  Accession ID  1942.9.302

A woman sitting in an upholstered chair near a vanity table touches the hair of the little girl leaning against her lap to our left, as a man leans onto the back of her chair to our right in this vertical portrait painting. The people all have pale skin, flushed cheeks, and their pale gray hair is pulled back and curled. Their pink lips curve in slight smiles, and light glinting off of much of the fabric suggests they wear satin or silk. The woman’s body is angled to our left, toward the girl, but she turns her head back to look up over her other shoulder with gray eyes. A voluminous, cream-white cloth drapes over her shoulders and lap, over a bodice covered in lilac-purple bows and ribbons. Her gold satin skirt falls around her feet. The little girl leans onto one arm on the woman’s lap as she turns to look at us with pale blue eyes. The girl’s forget-me-not-blue dress has a fitted bodice, elbow-length sleeves over white cuffs, a long, full skirt, and white ruffles along the collar. The woman holds blue flowers in the girl’s hair, and the girl’s forearm wraps around a bundle of pink and red flowers in the woman’s lap. The chair is upholstered in teal blue and has a gold frame and a row of gold nail heads along the padded back and arm. The man leans one forearm against the back of the chair as he looks down at the girl. In that hand, he holds a folded piece of paper with writing. He wears a loose jacket decorated with gold pagodas, pink and yellow flowers, and spruce-green leaves against a brown background. Foamy white lace falls back from his cuffs and hangs down from the high white collar of his undershirt. He wears brick-red, knee-length britches, white stockings, and black shoes with silver buckles. His other hand is planted against his hip, and one ankle is crossed in front of the other. A vanity draped with a white cloth sits on the far side of the woman and girl, along the left edge of the painting. It holds gold and glass vessels and boxes, and a rounded mirror at the back is draped with dark pink cloth. The lower half of a window behind the vanity is covered by a white cloth, and the panes continue beyond the top of the canvas. A teal-blue curtain hangs along the right edge of the window, at the corner of the room. A clock with a gold case of swirling, carved designs hangs high on the peanut-brown wall behind the man. On the floor near the chair, blue and white striped tissue paper, a rose-pink ribbon, and a strand of pearls drape over the edges of an open box. Writing along the front edge of the lid of the box reads, “Fs. Drouais. Ce 1 avril. 1756.” A pink rose lies near the girl’s feet, to our left.
François-Hubert Drouais, Family Portrait, 1756, oil on canvas, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1946.7.4

Family Portrait

François-Hubert Drouais · 1756 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1946.7.4

The sculpture features two cherubic children interacting with musical instruments and art materials. The child on the left is standing, holding a stringed instrument resembling a lute. The child on the right is seated, holding a small chisel in one hand and a pad of cloth in their lap. Both children have short, curly hair and are naked, although the seated child has a cloth draped across their lap and legs. Below them is a rectangular base with some wreaths and scattered objects around the children. The sculpture is white with grey veining.
Clodion, Poetry and Music, c. 1774/1778, marble, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.98

Poetry and Music

Clodion · c. 1774/1778 · marble ·  Accession ID  1952.5.98

Two chubby children sitting and standing on a stone plinth surrounded by artmaking supplies are carved from white marble in this free-standing sculpture. Both children have soft, rounded bodies, full cheeks, and wavy hair. The child to our left stands with one foot in front of the other and one forearm resting along the edge of an upright, rectangular, stretched canvas. That child’s long hair is pulled up under a ribbon, and drapery falls over one shoulder and across the hips. The other arm reaches across the chest and clutches a fistful of paintbrushes with that hand. The thumb is hooked through a painter’s palette, which rests back along the forearm. That child smiles down at the other, who sits with one ankle tucked behind the other knee while looking off to the left with lips parted. That second child is nude and has short hair. Though carved from the same material, the head and neck of a cleanshaven man with a wide chin and cheeks is meant to be understood as a sculpture within the sculpture. The seated child drapes one arm over the head of that portrait bust, which comes up to the child’s shoulder. The child holds a mallet and chisel in both hands over the portrait bust’s head. Drapery falls behind this child, and three more chisels are on the ground under the thigh of his bent leg. The two children, canvas, and portrait bust are on a rectangular marble slap, which itself rests on a gray stone plinth. The background is light gray.
Jean-Pierre-Antoine Tassaert, Painting and Sculpture, 1774/1778, marble, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.110

Painting and Sculpture

Jean-Pierre-Antoine Tassaert · 1774/1778 · marble ·  Accession ID  1952.5.110

A rutted, dirt road curves from the bottom center of the canvas toward and behind a grove of tall trees to our left, beneath a pale blue sky with fluffy white clouds that fills the top two-thirds of this horizontal landscape painting. The broad, green canopies of the trees to our left create deep shade over twisting trunks, shrubs, and grasses. A narrow stream meandering alongside the road to our left reflects the moss, pine, and sage greens of the leaves. The land rises in a sloping bank to our right, and leads back to open fields with hedgerows that stretch to the horizon. Shorter, more spindly trees cluster along the bank in the distance. Tiny in scale, people are sprinkled throughout the landscape, either singly or in small groups. In the shade of the grove to our left, a man with dark pantaloons, a brown hat and coat, and a walking stick strolls along the road with a woman wearing a red skirt, a dark shirt, and a white apron and cap. Just off the curve of the road to our right, another man with a walking stick, tan hat, and dark gray pantaloons talks to a woman also wearing red, black, and white. Another person, slightly smaller in stature, stands between them. At a pond farther back from this trio, a man with a broad-brimmed hat sits fishing at the edge of the water. Barely visible, a house with a pitched roof, a tall, brick-red chimney, and a white picket fence peeks out from behind the trees beyond the pond. Finally, a man wearing a rust-orange coat, gray pantaloons with white stockings, and a tall hat, carrying a pole propped on his shoulder, walks toward us on a footpath running alongside the fields. Tall, cream-white clouds dot the pale blue sky above, and tiny dots of dark paint suggest flying birds. Soft sunlight pours across the countryside. The artist signed and dated the painting in small script in the lower right corner: “meijndert Hobbema F 1663.”
Meindert Hobbema, A Wooded Landscape, 1663, oil on canvas, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.61

A Wooded Landscape

Meindert Hobbema · 1663 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1937.1.61

Bibliography

1911

  • "Death of Mr. Charles Wertheimer." The Times (26 April 1911): 10:3.

  • "Noted Art Collector Dead." The New York Times (26 April 1911): 13:4.