The Complete Works of Philippe Smit
by Andreas Narzt and Florence Castellani
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Photo: Christopher Burke Studios, NY; © FdDPS
PS 548 (P 2008)
The Empty Chair
Alternate titles: Le fauteuil vide; The Empty Chair
1948
Oil on canvas
47 1/8 x 38 in. (119.5 x 96.5 cm)
Signed and dated upper left: Philippe Smit/ 48
On the back: exposition label Philadelphia and a metal plate Pitcairn on the frame near upper center and lower left respectively; a handwritten label: The Empty Chair/ N° 2008/ Miriam on the stretcher upper center.
Inventories
Donation Berendina Hubscher, 20-06-1952, (attestation 03-09-1953), n.p., s.n. private archives: no. [P 2008]: A Mademoiselle Miriam Pitcairn: Tableaux, 1- Le fauteuil vide.
Inv. Pitcairn, n.d. [c.1957], n.p., LNC archives: no. P 2008: Mrs. John Mitchell (donation by Mrs. Smit), The Empty Chair, Oil, 47 x 38 [in.].
Inv. LNC, 1984, updated Oct. 1998, LNC archives: no. P 2008: p. 1, The Church - Church, The Empty Chair, (belongs to Mrs. John Mitchell), Oil [1998: Sold [sic], Danny], 47 x 38 [in.].
Provenance
Exhibitions
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Collection of the Rev. and Mrs. Theodore Pitcairn, June 17–September 15, 1960, no. 39, Oil, 47 x 38 [in.], 1946, The Empty Chair, 11-1960-39 (title and n° on the exhibition label).
Literature & Primary Sources
Niehaus, Kasper. Philippe Smit, unkown genius. Revised and edited by Marjorie Bell. Typescript, 1955, p. 19-20, as Le fauteuil vide.
Record last updated June 9, 2017. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Narzt, Andreas and Castellani, Florence. "The Empty Chair, 1948 (PS 548)." In The Complete Works of Philippe Smit. www.philippesmit.com/catalogue/entry.php?id=548 (accessed on December 3, 2025).