Provenance:

New Art Center Gallery, New York.

Hirshl & Adler Gallery, New York.

The Estate of Jacob and Bronka Weintrab.

Sotheby's Arcade, New York, sale of October 7, 2003, Lot 263.

Acquired directly from the above sale.

Private Collection, New York.

Literature:

Jean Cocteau, et al. Maria Lani, Paris: Éditions des Quatre Chemins, 1929, p. 10, illustrated.

Michel Kellermann, André Derain, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, 1915-1934, vol. II, Paris, 1996, p. 211, no. 1133, illustrated.

Lot Note:

In the late 1920s, a woman claiming to be a German actress arrived in Paris with two men promoting an idea for a film, The Woman of the Hundred Faces, the premise involving a woman who had portraits painted by one hundred well-known artists, all capturing different aspects of her appearance and persona. They approached Jean Cocteau, who created the first portrait of Maria Lani, and then encouraged other artists and friends to participate in the project. Over fifty prominent artists heeded the call, inviting Lani to sit in their studios, including André Derain, Henri Matisse, Fernand Léger, Pierre Bonnard, Kees Van Dongen, Chaim Soutine, Man Ray, Marc Chagall, Giorgio de Chirico, Francis Picabia, Jules Pascin, Georges Rouault, Suzanne Valadon, Raoul Dufy, Charles Despiau, and Georges Braque.

While the film never came to fruition, Lani and her companions collected the works into a traveling exhibition that began in November 1929 at the Brummer Gallery in Manhattan. Time Magazine reviewed the show, asking “Is she beautiful? Is she thin, fat, dropsical, anemic, senile, kittenish or reptilian? Last week Manhattanites asked these questions about Maria Lani, French cinemactress.” The collection later traveled to the Arts Club of Chicago; the Kunstkring, Rotterdam; Alfred Flechtheim Gallery, Berlin; Georges Bernheim Gallery, Paris; and Leicester Square, London. A limited-edition book was also published to commemorate the collection.

In 1931 the actress who took the art world by storm and amassed a very valuable collection of paintings seemingly disappeared. A 2018 article in Vanity Fair by Brian Moynahan delved deeper into what actually became of her and the scam she perpetrated, outlining the international intrigue and eventual death of Lani in 1954.

Framed: 28 x 25 x 3 in.

The painting is in good condition, with some minor craquelure throughout. There are a few small areas where the surface is slightly lifting, such as in the figure's neck. There are a few scattered losses at the edges, for instance at the bottom edge, there is also a brown tape that has been applied around the edges. Under UV light there is evidence of small areas of inpainting, in the figure's face and scattered in the background, as well as varnish throughout. Additional images available upon request.

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