Oil on canvas
Cousturier “has an exquisite and natural taste for shapes” and a “temperament [that] takes her towards the most dazzling colors,” observed the painter Paul Signac. Although Signac’s name, like Georges Seurat’s, is more commonly associated with Neo-Impressionism than Cousturier’s, she was a key figure within the movement, as an accomplished participant and as the author of numerous articles and books devoted to its artists. Neo-Impressionists juxtaposed dabs of pigment to make the colors in a painting appear more vibrant. This technique is exemplified by Cousturier’s Woman Reading—whose subject is depicted head propped on hand, immersed in a book—with its variegated, jewellike tones and tessellated strokes.
2024
Provenance Research Project
This work is included in the Provenance Research Project, which investigates the ownership history of works in MoMA's collection.
Galerie de l'Élysée (no. 11761), Paris
By 1952, Jean Metthey (Galerie de l'Élysée), Paris
Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. (WPC no. 599), New York
By 1960, E. & A. Silberman Galleries, Inc. (Abris Silberman), New York
1960, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, acquired as a gift from the above
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