Johannes Vermeer
A Woman Writing
c. 1665/6745 x 39.9 cm.
Oil on canvas
Signed on the picture frame in the background: IVMEER (IVM in monogram)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Gift of Harry Waldron Havemeyer and Horace Havemeyer, Jr. in memory of their father, Horace Havemeyer
Literature
Catalogues raisonnés
HdG 36
Walter Liedtke, Vermeer, New York, 2008, nr. 20
Roelofs/Weber 21
Collection catalogues
Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr., Dutch paintings of the seventeenth century, Washington; New York and Oxford, 1995, pp. 377-382
John Walker, National Gallery of Art, Washington, New York, 1995, nr. 399
Literature
Christopher Brown, Scenes of everyday life, London; Boston, 1984, p. 139
Walter Liedtke with Michiel C. Plomp and Axel Rüger, Vermeer and the Delft School, New Haven and London, 2001, fig. 170
Mariët Westermann, Art & home, Zwolle, 2001, fig. 108
Adriaan E. Waiboer, Gabriel Metsu, New Haven and London, 2010, fig. 33
Marjorie E. Wieseman, Vermeer's Women, New Haven [Conn.], 2011, fig. 29
Esmée Quodbach (ed.), Holland's Golden Age in America, University Park, Pennsylvania, 2014, fig. 60
Margaret Iacono, James Ivory, Vermeer's Mistress and maid, New York; London, 2018, fig. 15
Stephan Koja, Uta Neidhardt, Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. (eds.), Johannes Vermeer. On Reflection, Dresden, 2021, p. 21, fig. 6
Aneta Georgievska-Shine, Vermeer and the Art of Love, London, 2022, fig. 77
Exhibitions
2017 Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting: Inspiration and Rivalry, Nr. 9
2015 Class Distinctions: Dutch Painting in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer, Nr. 31
2001 Art and Home, Dutch Interiors in the Age of Rembrandt, Nr. 88
1995 Johannes Vermeer, Nr. 13
1990 Great Dutch Paintings in America, Nr. 67
Provenance
Possibly Pieter Claesz van Ruijven (1624-1674), Delft
possibly by inheritance to his wife, Maria de Knuijt (died 1681)
possibly by inheritance to her daughter, Magdalena van Ruijven (1655-1682), Delft
possibly by inheritance to her husband, Jacobus Abrahamsz. Dissius (1653-1695), Delft
his sale, Amsterdam, 16 May 1696, nr. 35
J. van Buren, The Hague
his sale, Bernardus Scheurleer, The Hague, 7-12 November 1808, 6th day (12 Nov.), nr. 22 of the paintings
Dr. Cornelis Jan Luchtmans (1777-1860), Rotterdam
his sale, by Mierop, Muys van Leen, and Lamme, Rotterdam, 20 and 22 April 1816, 1st day, nr. 90
J. Kamermans, Rotterdam
his sale, by A. Lamme, Rotterdam, 3 October 1825, nr. 70
Lelie
Hendrik Reydon
his sale, by J. de Vries, A. Brondgeest, E.M. Engelberts, and C.F. Roos, Amsterdam, 5-6 April 1827, nr. 26
François-Xavier, comte de Robiano (1778-1836), Brussels
his estate sale, Hotel du Défunt, Brussels, 1 May 1837 and days following, nr. 436
purchased by Héris for François-Xavier's son
Ludovic, comte de Robiano (1807-1887), Brussels
by inheritance to Ludovic's heirs, possibly his daughter and only child, Jeanne (1835-1900) and her husband, Gustave, baron de Senzeilles de Soumagne (1824-1906), until 1906
with J. & A. LeRoy, Brussels
purchased 1907 by J. Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913), New York
by inheritance to his son, J.P. Morgan, Jr. (1867-1943), New York
consigned 1935-1939 to, and purchased 1940 by M. Knoedler & Co., New York
sold 1940 to Sir Harry Oakes (1874-1943), Nassau, Bahamas
by gift or inheritance to his wife, Lady Eunice Myrtle McIntyre Oakes (c. 1894-1981), Nassau, Bahamas
consigned 1946 to M. Knoedler & Co., New York
sold 1946 to Horace Havemeyer (1886-1956), New York
by inheritance to his sons, Harry Waldron Havemeyer (born 1929), New York, and Horace Havemeyer, Jr. (1914-1990), New York
gift 1962 to NGA
Other works by Johannes Vermeer
Diana and Her Companions
c. 1653-54
c. 1653-54
A Woman Holding a Balance
c. 1663/64
c. 1663/64
Young Woman with a Water Pitcher
c. 1662
c. 1662
Study of a young woman
c. 1665-67
c. 1665-67
A Maid Asleep
c. 1656/57
c. 1656/57