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The Complete Works of Philippe Smit
by Andreas Narzt and Florence Castellani

Catalogue entry

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Photo: Christopher Burke Studios, NY; © FdDPS
Additional images
Original frame designed and painted by the artist.
Original frame designed and painted by the artist.
Photo: Christopher Burke Studios, NY; © FdDPS
Keywords
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Classification: Pastel
Theme: figurative
Medium: Pastel
Support: On cardboard
Year: 1932
PS 394 (P 105)
Miriam Pitcairn, Child
Alternate titles: Miriame Pitcairn; Miss Pitcairn; Portret van Miss Pitcairn
1932, reworked in 1948
Pastel on cardboard
77 5/8 x 46 7/8 in. (197 x 119 cm) (sight size)
Signed and dated lower right: Philippe Smit/ 1932
On the back: a handwritten label: Theod. Pitcairn/ N° 105F/ Portrait of Miriam on the frame upper center and a metal plate: 105 on the side of the frame lower right.
Collection Elizabeth Pitcairn
Inventories
Inv. Les Pleignes, P. Damidot, 1938, LNC archives: no. P 105: p. [1], grand salon, Grand pastel par Philippe Smit./ Portrait de Melle Myriam Pitcairn. 8.000 [FRF].
Inv. Pitcairn, n.d. [c.1957], n.p., LNC archives: no. P 105 F: Rev. Theodore Pitcairn, Portrait of Miriam, Smit, Pastel, 77 1/2 x 46 1/2 [in.].
Exhibitions
1948 Maurs
Galerie Pierre Maurs, Paris, Peinture et Pastels de Philippe Smit, February 04, 1948, no. 52, as Miriame Pitcairn, 1932 (CP).
Literature & Primary Sources
Massé 1920–1935
Massé, René. Journal. 1920-21, 1924, 1929-31, 1933-1935, 02-04-1933, p. [22] ("… portrait de la fille de Maryke …").
Niehaus 1937
Niehaus, Kasper. "Philippe Smit." Elsevier's Geïllustreerd Maandschrift Jaargang 47, n° 93 (1937 januari-juli), pl. XLVII, as Portret van Miss Pitcairn, Pastel 1932.
Het Parool 1948
"Bij de dood van Philippe Smit." Het Parool (Amsterdam), 09-08-1948, p. 2, ill. in b/w, as Miss Pitcairn.
Notes

"[…] Promenade en auto, Philippe, Loty et moi (François conduit)/ au Château 'Les Pleignes' par des petites route./ Visite du Château, à l’intérieur, tous les meubles sont/ recouverts – Je revois avec plaisir, […] Le portrait de la fille de Maryke au pastel, robe rose -/ elle est appuyée sur le dossier d’une chaise, sur cette chaise un petit nègre. […]" (… Car ride, Philippe, Lotty and me (François is driving), to chateau "Les Pleignes" via small roads. Visit of the Chateau, inside all the furniture is covered – I see again with pleasure, … The pastel portrait of Marijke’s daughter, pink dress – she is leaning against the backrest of a chair, on this chair a small negro. …) (Massé, 2 April 1933, p. [22])

Miriam Pitcairn-Mitchell (1927-2008), first child of Theodore and Marijke Pitcairn (fig. 1), remembers the posing session: "[…] It was in our home in France [Les Pleignes]. My grandmother I remember telling me endless fairy tales to keep me quiet. I remember how difficult it was standing, keeping that position. I was only about five or six years old."1

1. "Unpublished interview of Miriam Pitcairn-Mitchell" by Jonathan D. Kline, Bryn Athyn, 7 March 1994, 16 typewritten pages, p. 1 (Glencairn archives).

Additional images
Portrait of Miriam hanging to the right of those of her mother [PS 229] and her grandmother [PS 298], large living room in Theodore Pitcairn's house, Bryn Athyn (photograph, after 1945, courtesy of Mrs. Michael Pitcairn, LNC archives).
Portrait of Miriam hanging to the right of those of her mother [PS 229] and her grandmother [PS 298], large living room in Theodore Pitcairn's house, Bryn Athyn (photograph, after 1945, courtesy of Mrs. Michael Pitcairn, LNC archives).
The portrait seen from another angle, to its right Spring in Recloses [PS 331] above the fireplace and the portrait of Emma Asplundh [PS 295] to the left of the window (dito).
The portrait seen from another angle, to its right Spring in Recloses [PS 331] above the fireplace and the portrait of Emma Asplundh [PS 295] to the left of the window (dito).
FIG. 1 Miriam seated on her father's lap (photograph, 1928/29, courtesy of Mrs. Eshowe Pitcairn-Pennink, private archives, Paris).
FIG. 1
Miriam seated on her father's lap (photograph, 1928/29, courtesy of Mrs. Eshowe Pitcairn-Pennink, private archives, Paris).
Photo: Bachrach Studios
Record last updated November 11, 2024. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Narzt, Andreas and Castellani, Florence. "Miriam Pitcairn, Child, 1932, reworked in 1948 (PS 394)." In The Complete Works of Philippe Smit. www.philippesmit.com/catalogue/entry.php?id=394 (accessed on June 29, 2025).