The Painter Charles Conder

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The Painter Charles Conder

Artist William Rothenstein (British, 1872-1945)

Place of OriginEngland

Date1892

DimensionsH: 47 3/8 in. (120.3 cm); W: 21 3/4 in. (55.2 cm)

MediumOil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1952.86

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 33

Label TextBritish-born painters William Rothenstein and Charles Conder (1868–1909) met while studying in Paris in 1890 and became lifelong friends. The two young artists moved in impressive circles—they were friends with many leading artists and writers of the day, including Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Oscar Wilde, and Auguste Rodin. Conder was attracted to a reckless lifestyle in the hedonistic cabarets of Montmartre. As a result, he was often nearly destitute. In order to fulfill the social necessity of evening clothes on a severely restricted budget, Conder shopped for used clothing from decades earlier in the Paris flea markets. The long greatcoat and top hat from the 1830s that Conder wears in this portrait were an eccentricity for which he became known. In his memoirs, Rothenstein recalled that Conder wanted him to create a particular mood for the portrait and urged Rothenstein “to stylize his coat and give him a fatale and romantic appearance. [Conder] was a born stylist.”Published ReferencesRothenstein, W., Men and Memories: A History of the Arts, 1872-1922, New York, n.d., I, p. 121.

Rothenstein, J., The Life and Death of Conder, New York, 1938, pp. 141-142.

Rothenstein, J., Modern English Painters: Sickert to Smith, London, 1952, p. 124.

Flaizik, J., "Pictorial Literature," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, III, Spring 1960, pp. 45, 46, repr. p. 44.

Speaight, R., William Rothenstein, London, 1962, pp. 49, 71-72, repr.

Hoff, V., Charles Conder, Melbourne, 1972, pp. 51, 93, n. 21, fig. 20.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, European Paintings, Toledo, 1976, p. 144, pl. 338.

Grosser, Maurice, Critic's Eye, Indianapolis, 1962, p. 170.

Sutton, Denys, "A Silver Age in British Art," Apollo, vol. 125, no. 299, Jan. 1987, p. 54, fig. 5, p. 56.

Grece, Michel de, Portrait et seduction, Paris, 1992, p. 77, repr. (col.).

Stephenson, Andrew, "Precarious Poses: The Problem of Artistic Visibility and Its Homosocial Performances in Late Nineteenth-Century London," Visual Culture in Britain, vol. 8, no. 1, 2007, pp. 83-84, 1-2 n 50, fig. 5.

Florence, Palazzo Strozzi, Cézanne in Florence, 2007, p. 80, repr. (col.) and repr. p. 81 (col., det.).

Exhibition HistoryParis, Salon du Champ de Mars, 1892 (as L'homme qui sort).

London, New English Art Club, 1894.

London, Tate Gallery, Sir William Rothenstein, 1872-1945, A Memorial Exhibition, 1950, no. 4.

Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, British Art 1890-1928, 1971, no. 85, fig. 10 (cat. by D. Sutton).

New Brunswick, N.J., Zimmerli Art Museum, The Circle of Toulouse-Lautrec, 1985, no. 132, fig. 170.

Paris, Musee d'Orsay, 1893, l'Europe des peintres, 1993, no. 83, p. 244, repr. (col.).

New York, The Frick Collection, Whistler and Montesquiou: The Butterfuly and the Bat, 1995-1996, pp. 163-164, fig. 131, (col.).

London, Barbican Gallery, The Wilde Years, Oscar Wilde and the Art of His Time, 2000-2001, no. 144, pp. 77, 119, repr. p. 80 (col.).

Sydney, Art Gallery of New South Wales; Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria; Adelaide, Art Gallery of South Australia, Charles Conder Retrospective, 2003-2004, no. 105, p. 197, repr. (col.), p. 10.

London, Tate Britain; Washington, D.C., Phillips Collection, Degas, Sickert and Toulouse-Lautrec: London and Paris 1870-1910, 2005-2006, no. 77, pp. 141, 148, repr. 145 (col.).

Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy, Cezanne e l'Impressionismo a Firenze nel Primo Novecento, March 2 - July 29, 2007 [catalogue published as Cezanne in Florence, 2007, p. 80, repr. (col.) and repr. p. 81 (col. det.)].