The Complete Works of Philippe Smit
by Andreas Narzt and Florence Castellani
PS 177 (P 163)
La fille aux cheveux d'or (The Girl with Golden Hair)
Alternate titles: Emma se peignant; La fille aux cheveux d'or; Woman Combing Hair
1917
Pastel on cardboard
38 3/8 x 28 5/8 in. (97.5 x 72.5 cm) (sight size)
Inscribed and signed (in pencil) and sigend and dated (in pastel) in the same area lower left: La fille aux [one word unreadable]/ Philippe and Philippe/ 1917 Mai
On the back: fragment of the exhibition label Philadelphia on the frame upper center.
Inventories
Inv. Les Pleignes, P. Damidot, 1938, LNC archives: no. P 163: p. 12, escalier, Pastel par Philippe Smit./ Emma se peignant. 6.000 [FRF].
Inv. Pitcairn, n.d. [c.1957], n.p., LNC archives: no. P 163 F: Rev. Theodore Pitcairn, Emma Combing Her Hair, Smit, Pastel, 38 x 28 1/2 [in.].
Provenance
Exhibitions
Kunsthandel De Heem, Atelier 'de Sparren', Laren, Netherlands, Tentoonstelling Phillippe Smit, October 03–11, 1920, no. 24, as La fille aux cheveux d'or (De Gooi- en Eemlander 1920b: "… no. 24: 'la fille aux cheveux d'or' …").
Galerie Pierre Maurs, Paris, Peinture et Pastels de Philippe Smit, February 04–18, 1948, no. 75, as Emma se peignant, 1917 (CP); shown ?
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Collection of the Rev. and Mrs. Theodore Pitcairn, June 17–September 15, 1960, no. 21, Pastel, 38 x 28 1/2 [in.], 1917, Woman Combing Hair, 11-1960-21 (title and n° on the exhibition label).
Literature & Primary Sources
"Tentoonstelling - Philippe Smit." De Gooi- en Eemlander (Hilversum), 23-10-1920, p. 2, as La fille aux cheveux d'or ("… no. 24: 'la fille aux cheveux d'or' …").
Niehaus, Kasper. Philippe Smit, unkown genius. Revised and edited by Marjorie Bell. Typescript, 1955, p. 25-26, as Emma se peignant.
Record last updated July 4, 2024. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Narzt, Andreas and Castellani, Florence. "La fille aux cheveux d'or (The Girl with Golden Hair), 1917 (PS 177)." In The Complete Works of Philippe Smit. www.philippesmit.com/catalogue/entry.php?id=177 (accessed on April 29, 2026).