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The Edward McCormick Blair Collection of works by Paul Gauguin (French, 1848-1903)
A
!though intimate in scale, Paul Gauguin's works on paper afford invaluable
DRAWINGS
AND
WATERCOLORS
insight into his artistic ambitions and strategies. Spanning che years of
his engagement with the South Pacific and covering the full range of his
graphic activity, the remarkable collection of forry-one drawings, watercolors ,
woodcuts, and monorypes recently given co tl1e Art Institute by Edward McCormick
Blair provides a remarkable opportuniry co realize the painter's abiding passions
and creative sources. This exhibition, which marks the centenary of the artist's
death, celebrates Mr. Blair's contribution co che museum 's celebrated holdings of
Gauguin's works on paper, which have become an unrivaled teaching resource.
Gauguin referred co the drawings that filled his sketchbooks as "my letters,
my secrets." Noc initially intended for public view, these drawings attest to the
process by which the artist familiarized himself with the unknown. Each time he
encountered a new locale-first
1. Eve (Aline Chazal Gauguin 1825- 1867),
1889/90
Gouoche
onmillboord
170x130mm
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Bloir,
2002.224
2. Double-sided Sheet with Sketches ef
Figu·res a11dAni1,ra/sfrom Tahiti,
189 1/93
Gouoche,
watercolor,
brown
ink,andgraphite
on
tonwove
paper
321x435mm
Auckland
1995:No.7
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.22BR/V
3. Ten Studies efTahitian Figures,1891/93
Penandbrown
ink,with
watercolor,
onvellum
240x314mm
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.230
Brittany, then Martinique, and finally French
Polynesia--Gauguin compulsively sketd1ed his surroundings and their inhabitants.
This visual note-taking was his way of "getting the engine started in a new country . .. [and getting ] used co the personaliry of each thing and each individual:'
Such work became me seeds for paintings, prints, and otl1er drawings chat he
subsequently created for public display.
For Gauguin , creative "germination" of these seeds involved a complex
process of cross-fertilization wherein he freely appropriated from the arc of contemporaries and old masters, as well as of ancient Egypt, southeast Asia, Japan,
and Polynesia. Gauguin's most extensive creative borrowings, however, were from
his own works. As those on view here suggest, Gauguin avidly recycled his
4. Double-sided Pagefrolll a Tahitian
Sketchbook
, 1891
Watercolor
andgraphite
oncreom
wove
paper
107x167mm
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.229R/V
5. SeatedTahitia11Woltlan,1891/93
Reed
pen,metal
pen,andbrown
ink,selective~
ITaced
withgraphite,
ontonwove
poper
170x145mm
Auckland
1995:No.8
GihofEdward
McCormick
Bloir,
2002.232R
Sta11di11g
Tahitian Woma11,
1891/93
Reed
pen,metol
pen,andbrown
inkantonwave
poper
170x 145mm
Auckland
1995:
No.8
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.232V
favorite motifs , creating myriad permutations and combinations. Gauguin's
economical use of resources was matched by his near profligate disregard of
traditional approaches co media, which his restless creative drive led him co push
in new directions. This was especially the case with the graphic media, perhaps
because prints and drawings, by virtue of both their modest scale and their materi-
al nature, accommodated his need for experimentation and encouraged a technical
inventiveness and daring that, for Gauguin, painting could not satisfy.
Charting the artist's intimate encounters with new subjects and media, me
exhibited works reveal Gauguin's powers of observation and imaginative invention.
Similarly, they underscore me passions of a collector who, tlrrough a long involvement wim the South Pacific, developed an informed admiration for the telling
6. Sketches efFigures,Studies ef Hands
and FeetRelated to "Aha Oe Feii?
(What!Are YouJealous?)/11892
Penandbrawn
ink,with
graphite,
oncream
wove
paper
altered
toton
248x 199mm
Auckland
1995
: No.12
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Bloir,
2002.233R
FragmentsofBodies, a Decorative Design
and Two CrouchingTahitian Womeni11a
LandscapeRelated to "Najea Faaipoipo
( When Will Yo11Marry>)," 1892
Graphite
andpenandbrown
inkoncreom
wove
poper
altered
loton
248x199mm
Auckland
1995:No.12
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.233V
accuracy of Gauguin's studies and me resonant power of his dreams.
7. Tahitia11Hut, 1893/9 4
Wat
ercolor
over
graphite
onIonwove
paper
165x245mm
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.226
8. Ma11with a11Ax, 1893/95
Thinned
gouoche
ondpenandblock
ink,overpen
andbrown
ink,ondork
tonwove
poper
laiddown
oncreom
Joponese
poper
388x280mm
Auckland
1995:No.28
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Bloir,
2002.231
16.Bust efa Tahitian 1%man,1894
Wotercolor
monotype
onivory
Joponese
poper,
altered
to
ton,laiddown
ononginol
display
mount
242x200mm
field23(vonont)
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Bloir,
2002.240
14.Tahitian Cir/ in a Pink Pareu, 1894
Watercolor
monotype
oncream
loidpoper
299x194mm
field21(vonant)
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Bloir,
2002.237
23. TahitianIdol-The
25.A FishermanDrinking BesideHi s
34.Headpiectfor tht January 1900 issue
of"LeSourire," 1900
Woodcut
inbrown
inkoncreom
Joponese
poper
laiddown
Woodcut
inblock
inkonaeomJoponese
poper
oncreom
Joponese
poper
177x186mm
205x 139mm
Kornfeld
62.A
Kornfeld
33.11
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Bloir,
2002.252
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.251
17.Tahitian Landscape,1894
35.Headpiectfar theFebruary I 900 issue
9. TahitiansFishing,1893/95
Watercolor
monotype,
withbrush
andwatercolor,
oncream 26. WomanPickingFruit and the Savage
of"LeSowrire/'1900
lnsnibed
withPoul
Verlaine's
poem
from
Sagesse
wove
poper
Woodcut,
double
pnnled
inblock
ink,ontonwove
poper
(Oviri), 1896/97
(Port
Ill,No.6),1881
220x247mm
Woodcut
inblock
inkoncreom
Joponese
poper
106x154mm
Watercolor
andblock
ink,overpenondbrawn
ink,
Notinfield
154x 112mm
Kornfeld
63.A
onvellum
laiddown
onbrown
wove
poper
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.238R
Kornfeld
36
Gift
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.248
250x317mm
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.254
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.227
18.SeatedFemaleRelated to "The Sister ef
36.Headpiectfor "Lt Sourire,"1899/1900
27.Interior efa Tahitian Hut , 1898/99
Charity/1902
Woodcut
inblock
inkonivory
wove
poper
Traced
andITonsferred
monotype
inblock
inkon
Woodcut
inblock
inkancream
Joponese
poper
132x239mm
10.Parau Rina Tifatou, 1894/95
Penandbrown
inkandbrush
andgraywash,
buffwove
poper
132x221mm
Kornfeld
70
withblockcholk,onlexlured,ivorywovepoper 142x222mm
Kornfeld
41(23)
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.261
220x193mm
field43
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.250
Auckland
1995:No.14
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.239
37.H eadpiece
for "LeSourire,"1899/1900
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.235
28. Cha11ge
efResidence,1899
Woodcut
inblock
inkoncream
Joponese
paper
laiddown
Woodcut
inblack
ink,heightened
withredstenciled
water·
WOODCUTS
oncreom
Joponese
poper
color,
oncream
wove
paper
11.Stylized Maori Womanand Child,
19.Marum, 1893/94
123x117mm
Woodcut
inblock,
ochre,
yellow,
andgreen
ink,postel
with
163x305mm
1899/1902
Kornfeld
69.111
(12)
wosh
onaeomJoponese
poper
stum~ng,
graphite,
andgray
Kornfeld
54.1.a
Penandbrawn
ink,sele<tive~
ITaced
withgraphite,
Gift
ofEdword
McCormick
Blair,
2002.258
oncream
wove
poper
oltered
lobuff
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.242
235x391mm
164x42mm
Kornfeld
22.111.B
LITHOGRAPHS
field121(related)
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Bloir,
2002.249
29.Be in Love and Yo11Will Be Happy, 1898
38.M,wao Tupapau (Watchedby the
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.234R
Woodcut
inblack
inkonJoponese
poper
supenmposed
on
Spirit ofDead)
woodcut
inochre
inkoncreom
wove
poper
20. The Creationef the Universe,1893/9 4
Published
in/'fslumpe
otigina/e,
lssoo
VI,
Apn1/June
1894
Woodcut
inblock
inkanolizann
cnmson
wove
paper
12.Design.for a Fan Featuringa Landscape
162x275mm
Lithograph
inblock
inkonivory
wove
paper
Kornfeld
55.11.b
(23)
and a Statue ef the GoddessRina ,
altered
tatan
423x555mm
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.247
207x358mm
1900/03
Kornfeld
23.B(34)
Gouoche
andwatercolor,
withtouches
ofposlel,
over
Kornfeld
18.1
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.262
graphite
onpieced
off-while
laidJoponese
paper
laiddawn
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.253
30. Te Atua (The Gods), 1899
onoff-while
wove
paper
Woodcut
inblock
inkonoff-while
Japanese
paper
39. Two Maori Womm Squatting Down
21 Auti Te Pape,1893/94
250x225mm
208x417mm
PuJished
il tf11oove,
Allmr
d'M,No.3,febn.ory
1895
Kornfeld
53.11
(25)
Woodcut
ii l:txk,
Ofll'9l,cnl)lll:iwilkon
11lnwwepoper
Auckland
1995:No.35
Zincograph
inblock
oncreom
wove
poper
207x358mm
Gift
ofEdword
McCormick
Bloir,
2002.244
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.225
278x379mm
Kornfeld
16.11.C
Kornfeld
26.C(159)
31. Women,Animals and Leaves, 1898
MONOTYPES
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.246
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.264
Woodcut
inblack
inkoncreom
Joponese
poper
13.Aha Oe Feii>(Wbat 1Are YouJealous>),
227x306mm
22.Nave Nave Fe1111a,
1893/94
1894
40.la Orana Maria
Kornfeld
43.11
(2)
Watercolor
manotype,
withpenandredandblock
ink,an
Woodcut
inblock
ink,over
ochre
andyellow
ink,
Publ~hed
inl'Ep,euve,
Album
d'M,No.4,Morch
1895
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.257
stenciled
withredinkonivory
Japanese
paper
IonJoponese
vellum
Zincograph
inblock
ancream
wove
poper
390x249mm
195x242mm
380x280mm
32.Headpiecefar theNoveltlbert 899 issue
Kornfeld
14.IV.B
field10
Kornfeld
27.C(92)
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.256
of"LLSourire,"1899
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.236
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.263
Woodcut
inblock
inkonoff-white
Japanese
paper
15.Two Standing Tahitian Women,1894
Watercolor
monotype,
withbrush
andwatercolor,
anIanJapanese
vellum
260x200mm
field18
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.241
1894/95
GoddessRina,
Canoe,1894
128x226mm
Kornfeld
58.B(10)
Gift
ofEdword
McCormick
Blair,
2002.243
RUBBING
41. Christ 011 the Cross
Woodcut
inblock
ink,overochre
ondredinkwithtouches
Publ~hed
posthumous~
bytheMorees-Gesellschoft,
ofwhite
andgreen
inks,
ontonwove
poper
Munich,
1926
147x120mm
33.Headpiecefor the DecemberI 899 issue
Rt.laig
ii l:txk
cnlredilkonMXY
wwe.qxmese
poper
Kornfeld
32
of"LeSou ·rire/ 1899
Komfe~lll.6
Woodcut
inblock
inkonmottled
groylilue
wove
paper
laid
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.245
Gift
ofEdward
McCormick
Blair,
2002.259
down
anbuff
wove
poper
24.Noa Noa, 1894/95
166x244mm
Woodcut
inblock
ink,over
ochre
ink,anIonwove
poper
Kornfeld
61.C
COVEi
IMAGE:
Poul
Gauguin.
AhaOeFeii?
(What!
AreYou
Jealous?)
Gift
ofEdword
McCormick
Blair,
2002.255
151x 120mm
(detail)
, 1894.GiltafEdwordM1Cormi1k
Blai1
, 2002.236.
Kornfeld
34.11
Gift
ofEdword
McCormick
Blair,
2002.260
Where
applicable,
lhereader
isreferred
1o1hefollowing
sources:
Douglos
Druick
ondPeter
Zegers,
PoulGauguin:
Pages
fromthePacific
(Auckland:
Auckland
OtyArtGallery
, 1995).Richard
S.field,PoulGauguin:
Mono
types(Philadelphia:
Philadelphia
Museum
ofArt,1973).Eberhard
W.Kornfeld,
ed.,PoulGauguin:
(otologue
Roisanne
ofHisPrinb(Bern:
Golerie
Kornfeld
, 1988).