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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
Series
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Series
Series: Theodore Pitcairn
Keywords
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PS 458 (P 1516)
Theodore Pitcairn on a Horse, Study
Alternate titles: Study for a Painting; Study for Supine [sic]
c.1938
Pen, black ink and charcoal heightened with white chalk on paper
25 5/8 x 19 11/16 in. (65 x 50 cm) (sight size)
Neither signed, nor dated
On the back: fragment of the exhibition label Philadelphia on the protective backing board upper center.
Inventories
Inv. Pitcairn, n.d. [c.1957], n.p., LNC archives: no. P 1516: Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Pitcairn, Study for: 'Vision of the Lord on a White Horse', Smit, Crayon Drawing with white Pastel, 25 1/2 x 19 1/2 [in.].
Provenance
Theodore Pitcairn
Richard & Ruth Yardumian (most likely a gift from the above who had great admiration for the composer Richard Yardumian)
Brian & Esther Yardumian-Smyth (by descent)
Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn, PA, Inv. 07.DR.1475 (acquis from the above in 1999)
Exhibitions
1957 Springfield
The Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Massachusetts, Philippe Smit, An Exhibition of Works by a Twentieth Century Dutch Master, December 01–29, 1957, no. 34, as Study for a Painting, Drawing - Circa 1938, 28 1/2 x 22 1/2 [in.]1960 Philadelphia
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Collection of the Rev. and Mrs. Theodore Pitcairn, June 17–September 15, 1960, no. 52, Study for Supine [Soupir], 11-1960-52 (title [sic] and n° on the exhibition label).Literature & Primary Sources
No known published references.
Notes
According to the "Pitcairn" inventory (see above) this drawing, for which Theodore Pitcairn served as a model, is one of the studies for the project of the large painting Vision of the Lord on a White Horse, (see [PS 460]). Yet this project of representing Theodore Pitcairn as a man of God was abandoned for unknown reasons.The title Study for Supine, which is found on the label of the 1960 Philadelphia exhibition, is not only a bad understanding of the French word "soupir"1 but is also surely an error of identification, confirmed by various preparatory lists of the exhibition2.
1. See [PS 223], n° 59, 1960 Philadelphia.
2. PMA archives.
Record last updated April 29, 2017. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Narzt, Andreas and Castellani, Florence. "Theodore Pitcairn on a Horse, Study, c.1938 (PS 458)." In The Complete Works of Philippe Smit. www.philippesmit.com/catalogue/entry.php?id=458 (accessed on May 9, 2025).