Seated Man with a Guitar

Inscriptions

Signed, upper right: J. Lipschitz

Label

Curt Valentin acquired Seated Man with a Guitar while his gallery was still under Nazi art dealer Karl Buchholz’s name, but its acquisition date is currently unknown. Its absence from Valentin’s 1944 publication, The Drawings of Jacques Lipchitz, suggests it was likely sold to Evelyn and William Jaffe years prior. Although Valentin dealt Nazi-confiscated “degenerate art,” he also represented Lipchitz, complicating distinctions between legitimate sales and Nazi consignments—a complexity exacerbated by both men’s lack of record-keeping. Primarily a sculptor, Lipchitz began drawing in 1916 due to French wartime conditions, blending Cubist techniques with recognizable subjects like bathers and musicians.

Provenance: Buchholz Gallery, Curt Valentin, New York, New York [no. 10970]; sold to Evelyn Annenberg Friede Jaffe Hall (1911–2005) and William B. Jaffe (1904–1972), New York, date unknown; given to present collection, 1956.

From the 2025 exhibition A Space for Dialogue 126, Hidden Histories: Art, Provenance, and the Nazi Era, curated by Sadie Weil '25, Mellon Special Project Intern

Course History

ARTH 16.2, Picasso: The Vollard Suite, Michael R. Taylor, Fall 2013

THEA 90, Contemporary Practices in U.S. Theater, Laurie Cherba Kohn, Fall 2013

WRIT 5, The Waste Land, Before and After, Melissa Zeiger, Fall 2013

Exhibition History

A Collector's Choice, William B. Jaffe Memorial Exhibition, December 8, 1972-January 7, 1973.

A Space for Dialogue 126, Hidden Histories: Art, Provenance, and the Nazi Era, Sadie Weil '25, Mellon Special Project Intern, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, September 13 - November 2, 2025.

Cubism and its Affinities, Strauss and Barrows Galleries, Hopkins Center Art Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 9-September 5, 1976.

Cubism and its Influence, Barrows Print Room, Hopkins Center Art Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, February 17-March 30. 1975.

Cubism and Its Legacy, Churchill P. Lathrop Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, August 17-December 20, 2013.

Cubism, Carpenter Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 11-28, 1977.

Drawings At Darmouth, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, August 27-November 27, 1988.

Rococo to Modernism: European Drawings and Watercolors from the Permanent Collection and Dartmouth's Alumni, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 30-May 30, 2004.

The Machine in the Garden: Cubist Art from the Hood Collection, Alumni College 1986, Harrington Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 26-August 24, 1986.

The Sculptor Draws, Williams College Museum of Art, William College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, November 1-20, 1966.

Provenance

The artist's studio; by whom given to Curt Valentin, New York, New York [no. 10970] before 1953; Evelyn Annenberg Friede Jaffe Hall (1911-2005) and William B. Jaffe (1904-1972), New York, date unknown; given to present collection, 1956.

This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.

We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu

Subjects