Lot 22: Charles Bargue (French, 1826-1883)

"The Painter". Oil on canvas, unsigned, approx. 8-3/4" x 6-1/4", framed in a wide ornate gilt frame overall approx. 14-1/2" x 12". Partial label on back of stretchers attributing the study to Bargue. Exhibition label verso from the Dahesh Museum of Art, "Charles Bargue: The Art of Drawing", November 25, 2003 - February 8, 2004, also a Cleveland Museum of Art Registrar's label. Prov: Muriel S. Butkin Estate, auction September, 2009, lot 17.
Muriel S. Butkin was an important benefactor and philanthropist to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Together with her husband, the late Noah Butkin, they donated many works to the art museum over the years including an extensive collection of French old master paintings and drawings. In addition, Mrs. Butkin's entire residual estate was left to the Cleveland Museum of Art to be sold to benefit the museum's endowment and capital campaigns. The Butkin residence in Shaker Heights was known by curators, scholars, and collectors alike as a salon of rare distinction, mixing important artwork with fine Continental furniture, porcelains, and English silver. This will be an exclusive auction, with items only from Mrs. Butkin's estate. Items in the sale will include furniture, fine silver, decorative arts, fine porcelains, netsuke collection and works of art.