Henri Matisse (Le Cateau-Cambrésis, 1869 - 1954, Nice)
Matthew Stewart Prichard, 1914
Lithograph, 37.3 x 28.6 cm (14 11/16 x 11 1/4 in.)
This is a vertical etching of the head, neck and upper shoulders of Matthew Stewart Prichard.. The etching is in black ink on gray paper framed by a wide white mat. Prichard is shown with his head turned slightly to the right. The artist has employed a minimum of lines to convey the sitter’s square head shape; almond-shaped eyes; low eyebrows; short hair combed backward; long, slightly hooked nose; left ear; and closed, slightly asymmetrical lips, the top lip notably thinner than the bottom. The sitter’s short neck disappears under the upper lapel of his suit, closed shirt collar, and knot of a tie. Playful flower shapes surround the edge of the paper around Prichard’s head. In the lower right corner the artist has written, “t. A quinze ex. Dixeme epr. Henri Matisse.”
Short Gallery
Commentary
Matthew Stewart Prichard was the assistant director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and for a time lived in an apartment at Fenway Court. His friendship with Gardner influenced her ideas about contemporary art, especially the work of his friend Henri Matisse.