AGO acquires portrait of Black model Pierre Louis Alexandre, plus Kirchner print and Jennie C. Jones audio work.
The Art Gallery of Ontario has recently added a portrait of Pierre Louis Alexandre, created by Alma Holsteinson around 1879-80. Alexandre, who was a prominent Black model in the art world before the 20th century, originally hailed from French Guyana and made his way to Stockholm in 1863, where he worked both at the docks and as a life model. In 2024, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, purchased Holsteinson's portrait of Karin Larsson for 760,000 kronor ($82,200) at Bukowskis in December. Meanwhile, the Jena Kunstsammlung acquired Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's double-sided print of Botho Graef and Hugo Biallowons from 1915, and the Blanton Museum of Art welcomed Jennie C. Jones's audio piece RPM (2018) thanks to a generous $5 million contribution from Sarah and Ernest Butler.
Key facts
- AGO acquired Alma Holsteinson's portrait of Pierre Louis Alexandre (c. 1879-80).
- Pierre Louis Alexandre was born in French Guyana in 1844 and arrived in Stockholm in 1863.
- The portrait sold at Bukowskis in December 2024 for 760,000 kronor ($82,200), over seven times the estimate.
- Karin Larsson's portrait of Alexandre was acquired by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, in 2024.
- Jena Kunstsammlung acquired Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's double-sided print of Botho Graef and Hugo Biallowons (1915).
- Kirchner donated 260 works to Graef's collection, which was confiscated by the Nazis in 1937 as 'degenerate art'.
- Blanton Museum of Art acquired Jennie C. Jones's audio work RPM (2018) for its Butler Sound Gallery.
- RPM was originally commissioned for Philip Johnson's Glass House.
Entities
Artists
- Alma Holsteinson
- Pierre Louis Alexandre
- Karin Larsson
- Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
- Botho Graef
- Hugo Biallowons
- Jennie C. Jones
- Philip Johnson
Institutions
- Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO)
- Royal Academy of Fine Arts
- Bukowskis
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
- Jena Kunstsammlung
- Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation
- Blanton Museum of Art
- University of Texas
- Butler Sound Gallery
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- The Glass House
Locations
- French Guyana
- Stockholm
- Sweden
- Washington, DC
- United States
- Jena
- Germany
- Austin
- Texas
- Connecticut