Still Life with Pineapple

1924

Henri Matisse

Artist, French, 1869 - 1954

A whole pineapple in a dish, a small white bottle with a stopper, and two pieces of yellow fruit sit on a round, gold-toned tray in this loosely painted, horizontal still life. We look slightly down onto the tray, which fills more than the bottom half of the painting. The objects on the tray are clustered on its left half. At the back, the pineapple sits in an octagonal white bowl with a turquoise interior so the pineapple’s leaves angle away from us. The hand-sized, white bottle is painted on its round belly with pink flowers and green leaves. One piece of yellow fruit is streaked with red. Orange, yellow, and red pieces of fruit sit behind the tray to our right. The peach-colored table is near a wall painted loosely with vivid pink flowers and muted green leaves against a slate-gray background. The artist signed the lower right corner, “Henri-Matisse.”
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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Possibly Paul Guillaume.[1] Baron S. Fukushima, Paris; purchased January 1931 by Marie N. Harriman [1903-1970] and William Averell Harriman [1891-1986], New York;[2] W. Averell Harriman Foundation; gift 1972 to NGA.
[1] A photograph of this painting is included among an album of contre-types which belonged to Paul Guillaume. See letter dated 5 March 1998 from Pierre Georgel in NGA curatorial files.
[2] Acquisition date and source according to Harriman collection records in NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1931

  • French Paintings, Marie Harriman Gallery, New York, 1931, no. 6, as Le plateau marocain.

  • Henri Matisse, Galeries Georges Petit, Paris, 1931, no. 115, as Le plateau marocain.

1933

  • French Paintings, Marie Harriman Gallery, New York, 1933, no. 6

1934

  • Still Life, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1934, unnumbered checklist

1939

  • Modern French Masters, Marie Harriman Gallery, New York, 1939, no. 6, as Still Life

1961

  • Exhibition of the Marie and Averell Harriman Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1961, unnumbered catalogue, repro. 29

1976

  • Loan for display with permanent collection, Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, 1976-1977

1981

  • Matisse, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, 1981, no. 66, repro.

1982

  • Extended Loan to the White House for use by President George W. Bush, 1999-2003.

1984

  • Henri Matisse, Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark, 1984-1985, no. 57

1989

  • Impressionisti della National Gallery of Art di Washington, Ala Napoleonica e Museo Correr, Venice; Palazzo Reale, Milan, 1989, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

1999

  • Extended loan for use by The White House, Washington, D.C., 1999-2004.

2004

  • European Art Between the Wars, Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, 2004, unnumbered catalogue.

2015

  • Collection Conversations: The Chrysler and the National Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, 2015, no catalogue.

Bibliography

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 230, repro.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 594, no. 918, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 263, repro.

Inscriptions

lower right: Henri-Matisse

Wikidata ID

Q20192526

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