JOHN LA FARGE 1835-1910 PORTRAIT OF FAASE, THE TAUPO OF FAGALOA BAY, SAMOA Measurements: 19.2in.5 by 15 .5in. Alternate Measurements: (48. 9 by 39.4 cm) signed La Farge, dated Jany 1891 and inscribed Taupe Faase near Vai ala in Samoa, l.r.; also inscribed Samoan Courtship/ Vai Ala/ Vai Ala by Samoa 1891January/ Faase the Taupo of Fagaloa Bay/ and her Duenna of Chaperon/ a young chief is coming to court her/ probably with presents./ JLF on the reverse watercolor and gouache on board We are grateful to Dr. Yarnall for his assistance in cataloguing this work. Provenance: Doll & Richards, Boston, Massachusetts, 1900 Theodore-Charles-Ange Coquelin, Paris, France, circa 1903-07 (acquired from the above) The artist, 1907 (acquired from the above, sold: American Art Association-Anderson Art Galleries New York, March 9, 1910, 96) Mrs. Edwin C. Moran, New York (acquired at the above sale) Estate of Mrs. Edwin C. Moran, New York James Graham & Sons, New York (acquired from the above) Acquired from the above, 1966 Exhibited: Boston, Massachusetts, Doll & Richards, 1893 ( as Portrait of Faase, The Taupo, or Official Virgin of Fangoloa [sic] Bay, and her Duenna. Samoa) New York, Exhibition of American Society of Painters in Water Colors, 1893, no. 309 (as Portrait of Faase, the Taupo of Fagaloa Bay, Samoa) New York, Durand and Ruel, 1895, no. 11 New York, Montross Gallery, Catalogue of Works by John La Farge, January-February 1901, no. 83 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Carnegie Institute, Catalogue of Works by John La Farge, March-April 1901, no. 73 Boston, Massachusetts, Doll & Richards, Catalogue of Works by John La Farge, February-March 1907 New York, M. Knoedler & Co., Exhibition of Glass, Oil and Water Color Paintings and Sketches by John La Farge N.A., February 1909, no. 29 New York, James Graham & Sons, John La Farge, May-June 1966, no. 43 New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 200 Years of Watercolor Painting in America: An Exhibition Commemorating the Centennial of the American Watercolor Society, December 1966-January 1967, no. 64 (as A Taupo and her Duenna Awaiting the Approach of a Young Chief) Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American Art; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, The Carnegie Museum of Art; Boston, Massachusetts, Museum of Fine Arts, John La Farge, July 1987-April 1988, no. 77, illustrated in color p. 109 (as A Taupo and her Duenna Awaiting the Approach of a Young Chief) Yonkers, New York, The Hudson River Museum; Utica, New York, Munson-Williams Proctor Art Institute; Chicago, Illinois, Terra Museum of American Art, John La Farge: Watercolors and Drawings, October 1990-August 1991, no. 95, illustrated in color (as Portrait of Faase, the Taupo of the Fagaloa Bay, Samoa (A Taupo and her Duenna Await the Approach of a Young Chief)) New York, Vance Jordan Fine Art, Recreation and Idleness: The Pacific Travels of John La Farge, April-June 1998, p. 79, illustrated in color p. 81, fig. 105 Literature and References: "Pictures by John La Farge," New York Times January 25, 1901, p. 7 "Exhibitions Now On," American Art News, March 16, 1907, p. 6 John La Farge, Reminiscences of the South Seas, New York, 1916, illustrated in color p. 121 (as Samoan Courtship. Faase, The Taupo or Official Virgin and her Duenna Wait Modestly for the Approach of a Young Chief) Henry Adams (translated by Evelyne de Chazeaux), Lettres des Mers du Sud, Paris, France, 1974, illustrated in color opp. p. 94 Barbara Dayer Gallati, "The Watercolors of John La Farge," The Magazine Antiques, no. 132, December 1987, p. 1297, illustrated in color James L. Yarnall, "John La Farge and Henry Adams in the South Seas," American Art Journal, 1988, pp. 67-68, illustrated also illustrated on the back cover Note: According to Dr. James L. Yarnall, despite the date noted in the title, La Farge visited Fagaloa Bay on November 30, 1890. He likely painted this work after the fact in another location.