Stag Hunt in a River

Artist Philips Wouwerman (Dutch, 1619–1668)

Datecirca 1650–1655

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions53 1/8 x 76 3/4 in. (134.9 x 194.9 cm)
Frame: 66 1/8 x 90 1/8 in. (168 x 228.9 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the State of North Carolina

Object number52.9.64

On View

On view

Collections

ProvenanceCreated Haarlem, Netherlands, ca. 1650–1655. Private collection, England; Sollier (merchant); Nicolas Beaujon (1718–1786), Paris [1]. François-Antoine Robit (c. 1762–1815), Paris, by 1801; [his sale, Paillet and Delaroche, Paris, May 11–18, 1801, no. 171, as Philippe Wouvermans]; Caillard. Probably Charles Ferdinand d’Artois, duc de Berry (1778–1820); to his widow Maria-Caroline-Ferdinande-Louise de Bourbon, duchesse de Berry (1798–1870), Paris; [her sale, M. Bataillard, Paris, April 4–6, 1837, no. 54, as Le Cerf Forcé, Philippe Wouverman]; [2] Louis Fould (1794–1858); [his sale, Charles P[a]illet, Paris, June 4, 1860, tableaux no. 21, as Le Cerf Forcé, Ph. Wouwermans] [3]; his son Édouard Fould (1834–1881), Paris; [his sale, Hȏtel Drouot, Paris, April 5–9, 1869, no. 15, as Le cerf forcé, Philippe Wouwerman]; Lev [Leo] Tolstoy, Count Tolstoy (1828–1910). P. A. B. Widener (1834–1915), Philadelphia, before 1900; by inheritance to Joseph Widener (1871–1943), Philadelphia. Ernest James Wythes (1868–1949), Copped Hall, Epping, Essex, England; [his sale, Christie, Manson and Woods, London, March 1, 1946, no. 13, as A Stag Hunt]; [Leonard Koetser, London, and Koetser Gallery, New York]; private collection, USA; [Norton Galleries, New York]; sold to NCMA, 1952.

[1] Not among the three paintings by Wouwerman sold after Beaujon’s death (Remy and Julliot, Paris, April 25, 1787, nos. 51-53).
[2] Annotated version of the 1837 catalogue in Ghent University (accessed 2/23/2021 via Google Books), notes that Fould was the buyer at this sale.
[3] According to the Dictionnaire des ventes (1911-12), tome 7, 553, the work was sold for 8,100 francs at the 1860 Louis Fould sale. It’s possible that the buyer was Édourard Fould, since the work was soon thereafter in his collection, but no annotation has been found indicating a direct transfer. Barring evidence to the contrary, and given the familial connection between these subsequent owners, as well as the 1860 sale provenance being
listed in the 1869 E. Fould catalogue, a semicolon has been used to indicate the likelihood of a direct transfer.