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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
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
Berendina Hubscher
Miriam Pitcairn-Mitchell (donation from the above in 1952)
John Daniel Mitchell (gift from the above in the 1990s)
Exhibitions
1960 Philadelphia
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 1955
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).