Marguerite Matisse
Nice
1920-1930
Scroll
Marguerite Matisse
Nice
1920-1930
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas board, Unframed: 25 3/4 × 20 3/16 in. (65.4 × 51.3 cm.)
Framed: 29 5/8 × 24 1/8 × 1 5/16 in. (75.2 × 61.3 × 3.3 cm.)
Credit Line
The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland
Object Number
1950.350
This luminous depiction of the bay at Nice in the south of France was painted by Marguerite Matisse, the eldest child of Henri Matisse. Nice was exhibited in Paris in 1926 and purchased by Claribel Cone that same year. Despite her skill as a painter, Marguerite Matisse later chose to give up on an artistic career when one of her paintings was mistaken for the work of her father. She destroyed most of her artwork.
Nice and Still Life with Bottle, on view nearby, are rare examples of her paintings in a museum collection. The younger Matisse played an essential role in her father's career as a model and supporter of his artistic practice for decades.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by bequest, 1949; Etta Cone, by bequest, 1929; Claribel Cone, Baltimore, by purchase, October 26, 1926; the artist, Paris
Sociéte des Artistes Indépendants, Palais de Bois, Paris "Salon des Indépendants", March 20, 1926-May 2, 1926.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Women Artists", April 18, 1972-June 18, 1972.
Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris, "Matisse and Marguerite", April 4, 2025 - August 24, 2025.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Women Artists", April 18, 1972-June 18, 1972.
Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris, "Matisse and Marguerite", April 4, 2025 - August 24, 2025.
Brenda Richardson, "Dr. Claribel & Miss Etta: The Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1985, p. 176.
Pierre Sanchez, "Dictionnaire des indépendants: Répertoire des éxposants et liste des oeuvres présentées, 1920-1950," Dijon: l'Echelle de Jacob, 2008, p. 967 (published as "Paysage").
Monod-Fontaine, Isabelle. Matisse et Marguerite: le regard d'un père. Paris: Paris-Musées, 2025, page 26, ill. 7.
Inscribed: Recto: Lower right in black paint, "MARGUERITE MATISSE" Verso: Top in black grease pencil, "MARGUERITE MATISSE" Frame Inscriptions Verso: Top right in black grease pencil, "248" Bottom right in graphite, "30m" Left on bottom rail, rectangular browned label, black stamped lettering, "XPOSITION/NNUELLE/N°2346/REGISTREMENT/DES/UVRAGES/IS DE BOIS/Mars - 2 Mai 1926"