Provenance

• 1884: said to have been bought from a New York collection by the art dealer William O'Leary, when he was working for George R. Angell (1836-1900) of Detroit.
• 1906: probably sold at auction, Christie's, London, 9 July 1906 (lot 40) as 'A Portrait of the Artist', and bought by Obach, London dealers;
• 1908: possibly 'Portrait of himself', sent on 13 October by Obach's to Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) but returned;
• 1911: possibly consigned by Obach & Co., to be sold at auction, Christie's, London, 21 July 1911 (lot 77) as 'Portrait of the Artist', and bought by Wallis, London dealers.
• 1928: according to the Art Digest, owned by William O'Leary, Detroit, in 1928.
• 1958: bought from Mrs John L. Robertson (dates unknown) , Scranton, PA, by Knoedler, New York dealers, on 25 June 1958 (#CA5472);
• 1958: sold on 25 September to Norman Bailey Woolworth (1901-1962) ;
• 1962: bequeathed to his estate.
• 2013: given by Paula Crane Lunder (b. 1935) and Peter H. Lunder (b. 1933) to Colby College Museum of Art.

There are some gaps and uncertainties in the provenance, particularly before 1906 and from 1928-1958. For further details see MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 463): this record has been revised and updated.