Inspired by Cleveland¡¯s groundbreaking acquisitions of Odilon Redon¡¯s artworks during the 1920s, local philanthropist and collector Leonard C. Hanna Jr. purchased this luminous pastel of a floral still life in 1937. Hanna acquired it from Jacques Seligmann, a dealer based in New York City and Paris who was fundamental in bringing 19th-century French art to American audiences. In 1939, Hanna loaned the pastel to the New York World¡¯s Fair, where it represented Redon¡¯s work. Those who saw it there were attracted to the vivid color and timeless subject, which preoccupied the artist at the end of his life. Title Vase of Flowers Creator Odilon Redon (French, 1840¨C1916) Date Created 1916 Physical Dimensions Sheet 84.1 x 58 cm (33 1/8 x 22 13/16 in.) Provenance R. Kahn, New York, (Jacques Seligmann & Co., New York, sold to Leonard C. Hanna, Jr., Cleveland, OH), Leonard C. Hanna Jr. [1889-1957], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH Type Drawing Rights CC0 Medium pastel Inscriptions signed on base of flower ODILON REDON Fun Fact Redon was inspired to depict flowers after meeting the botanist Armand Clavaud, a cataloguer of plant species in the artist's native region of Bordeaux Department Drawings Culture France, 20th century Credit Line Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Collection DR - French Accession Number 1958.46
