La Vie Des Champs, a Provence oil on canvas, 10 x 14in (26 x 35cm), executed in 1876-77, is part of the 150-plus lot collection of the heiress and philanthropist Dorrance Hamilton which Freeman’s of Philadelphia will offer for sale in April.
Dorrance ‘Dodo’ Hamilton (1928-2017) was the granddaughter of John Thompson Dorrance (1873-1930), the American chemist who discovered a method to create condensed soup, and served as president of the Campbell Soup Company from 1914-30.
The collection in Philadelphia will also include works by Childe Hassam, Daniel Garber, Henri Fantin LaTour, and Eugène Boudin. A 16.56ct diamond and platinum ring with a central stone of F-colour with VS-2-clarity is expected to bring over $500,000.
Global tour
Highlights from the Freeman’s sale will be available to view in London at Lyon & Turnbull’s 22 Connaught Street office from January 29-30 before heading to Paris and then Hong Kong.
The Cézanne will be offered at Freeman’s at an April 29 auction and the diamond ring will sold as part of a Fine Jewelry auction on May 9.
The picture appeared at auction on a number of occasions in the 20th century before entering the Hamilton collection at Christie’s New York in 1977.
"The painting has all the characteristic trademarks one associates with Cezanne as well as a storied provenance and history," said Freeman’s chairman Alasdair Nichol. "The painting’s original owner was the legendary art dealer Ambroise Vollard, who gave Cezanne his first exhibition in 1895.
"The painting then passed to Prince Alexandre Bibesco, a Romanian aristocrat, who counted Marcel Proust as a close friend. It subsequently passed through the hands of noted dealers such as Pierre Matisse, Alex Maguy, and Acquavella Galleries before entering the collection of Elinor Dorrance Ingersoll, the mother of ‘Dodo’ Hamilton and the originator of her nickname."
Meanwhile, and also in London, the Cézanne Portraits exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery continues until February 11.
It brings together for the first time over 50 of his portraits from collections across the world, including works which have never been on public display in the UK.
