Where Is Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat)?

Q: Where can I see Woman with a Hat by Matisse?

It's on permanent display at SFMOMA in San Francisco. The painting can't travel due to the terms of its bequest, so SFMOMA is the only place you'll ever see it.

Q: Why was Woman with a Hat so controversial?

Matisse used wild, non-naturalistic color patches for his wife's portrait. Critics at the 1905 Salon d'Automne were furious, and the backlash accidentally named the Fauvism movement.

Q: What movement does this painting belong to?

It's one of the key works of Fauvism, a movement defined by bold color and loose brushwork. The name came from critic Louis Vauxcelles calling Matisse and his peers "les fauves" (wild beasts) at the very show where this painting debuted.

Henri Matisse ignited passionate controversy when he debuted this portrait at the 1905 Salon d'Automne in Paris. The painting depicts his wife Amélie, rendered in patches of wild colorful brushstrokes that purposefully departed from observed reality.

Critics were outraged. Louis Vauxcelles famously called Matisse and his colleagues "les fauves" (wild beasts), inadvertently naming the Fauvism movement. Gertrude and Leo Stein purchased the controversial work for 500 francs, boosting Matisse's morale after the harsh criticism.

The painting eventually made its way to San Francisco through Michael and Sarah Stein in 1935. SFMOMA received it as a bequest in 1991. By terms of the gift, the painting cannot travel, making SFMOMA the only place to see this foundational work of modern art.

It's on permanent display at SFMOMA in San Francisco. The painting can't travel due to the terms of its bequest, so SFMOMA is the only place you'll ever see it.

Matisse used wild, non-naturalistic color patches for his wife's portrait. Critics at the 1905 Salon d'Automne were furious, and the backlash accidentally named the Fauvism movement.

Gertrude and Leo Stein purchased it for 500 francs from the 1905 Salon. It later passed through Michael and Sarah Stein before reaching San Francisco in 1935, eventually going to SFMOMA in 1991.

It's one of the key works of Fauvism, a movement defined by bold color and loose brushwork. The name came from critic Louis Vauxcelles calling Matisse and his peers "les fauves" (wild beasts) at the very show where this painting debuted.

Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat)

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

More by Henri Matisse

The Study of Gustave Moreau

The Snail

Still Life with Books and Candle

Dance

Also at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Frieda and Diego Rivera

Related Post-Impressionism Works

Starry Night Over the Rhône

Sunflowers

The Starry Night

Almond Blossoms

Self-Portrait

Irises

Portrait of Dr. Gachet

The Night Café

About Femme au chapeau (Woman with a Hat)

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