Henri Matisse
Tiari (with Necklace)
1929
Scroll
Henri Matisse
Tiari (with Necklace)
1929
Physical Qualities
Bronze, gold and silver necklace, stone base, 8 x 5 5/8 x 7 5/8 in. (20.3 x 14.3 x 19.4 cm.)
Credit Line
The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland
Object Number
1950.438
After returning from a trip to Tahiti in 1930, Matisse created a sculpture inspired by the island gardenia known as the tiaré, often worn decoratively in the hair. Here, the forms of the flower merge with the portrait bust, creating a nose from its stalk and an elaborate hairstyle from the petals. Despite its relatively small scale, its sensual and organic form makes Tiari one of Matisse’s most powerful bronzes.
This is the only version of the sculpture with an added chain necklace, which Matisse made exclusively for Etta Cone. She was a singularly dedicated collector of his bronzes, purchasing 18 works—more than 20 percent of all the sculptures Matisse ever produced.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by bequest, 1949; Etta Cone, Baltimore, by purchase from the artist 1931, Paris
"Matisse Retrospective Exhibition", The Museum of Modern Art, New York, November 13, 1951-January 13, 1952; The Cleveland Museum of Art February 5-March 16, 1952; The Art Institute of Chicago, April 1-May 1, 1952; The San Francisco Museum of Art May 21-July 6, 1952.
"4,000 Years of Modern Art", Walters Art Gallery, March-April, 1953.
"The Cone Collection", M. Knoedler & Co., New York, January 24-February 19, 1955.
"Henri Matisse Retrospective", The UCLA Art Galleries, January 5-June 30, 1966, cat. # 132; circulated to The Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
"The Sculpture of Matisse", MOMA, February 24-May 8, 1972 (not circulated to Pasadena(?) or Berkeley).
Wildenstein Gallery, New York, "Cone Collection from The Baltimore Museum of Art", March 29-May 11, 1974.
Brenda Richardson, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, "Matisse in The Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", August 24-October 14, 1979.
"Gauguin to Moore: Primitivism in Modern Sculpture", Alan Wilkinson, Art Gallery of Ontario, November 6, 1981-January 3, 1982.
"The Spirit of Appreciation: Masterpieces from the Cone Collection", BMA produced, circulated to Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 6-November 24, 1985; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, December 14-February 9, 1986.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Denver Art Museum, "Matisse from The Baltimore Museum of Art", March 11, 2000-June 25, 2000; circulated to the Birmingham Museum of Art, July 23, 2000-September 17, 2000; The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, October 10, 2000-January 28, 2001.
Dorothy Kosinski, Jay McKean Fisher, Steven Nash; BMA, Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, "Matisse: Painter as Sculptor", Dallas, January 21-April 29, 2007; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, June 9-September 16, 2007; The Baltimore Museum of Art, October 28, 2007-February 3, 2008, no. 78.
"4,000 Years of Modern Art", Walters Art Gallery, March-April, 1953.
"The Cone Collection", M. Knoedler & Co., New York, January 24-February 19, 1955.
"Henri Matisse Retrospective", The UCLA Art Galleries, January 5-June 30, 1966, cat. # 132; circulated to The Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
"The Sculpture of Matisse", MOMA, February 24-May 8, 1972 (not circulated to Pasadena(?) or Berkeley).
Wildenstein Gallery, New York, "Cone Collection from The Baltimore Museum of Art", March 29-May 11, 1974.
Brenda Richardson, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, "Matisse in The Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", August 24-October 14, 1979.
"Gauguin to Moore: Primitivism in Modern Sculpture", Alan Wilkinson, Art Gallery of Ontario, November 6, 1981-January 3, 1982.
"The Spirit of Appreciation: Masterpieces from the Cone Collection", BMA produced, circulated to Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 6-November 24, 1985; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, December 14-February 9, 1986.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Denver Art Museum, "Matisse from The Baltimore Museum of Art", March 11, 2000-June 25, 2000; circulated to the Birmingham Museum of Art, July 23, 2000-September 17, 2000; The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, October 10, 2000-January 28, 2001.
Dorothy Kosinski, Jay McKean Fisher, Steven Nash; BMA, Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, "Matisse: Painter as Sculptor", Dallas, January 21-April 29, 2007; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, June 9-September 16, 2007; The Baltimore Museum of Art, October 28, 2007-February 3, 2008, no. 78.
Etta Cone, "The Cone Collection of Baltimore, Maryland" (Baltimore: 1934) plate. # 123b.
'Cone Bequest,' "BMA News," Oct. 1949, no. 125.
Charles Seymour Jr., "Tradition and Experience in Modern Sculpture," (Washington, DC: American University Press, 1949) 48.
Alfred H. Barr, Jr., "Matisse: His Art and His Public," (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1951) 185, 218, 217, 461, 557.
Gertrude Rosenthal, '4,000 Years of Modern Art,' "BMA News," Apr. - May 1953, p. 7.
Gaston Diehl, "Henri Matisse," (Paris: Pierre Tisne, 1954) 83.
"Handbook of the Cone Collection," (Baltimore: BMA, 1955) 45, no. 158.
K. R. Greenfield, 'The Museum: Its First Half Century,' "Annual I," BMA, 1966, ill. p. 79.
Henri J. Seldis, 'The Magic of Matisse,' "Apollo," vol. LXXXIII, no. 50, Apr. 1966, p. 252.
Hilton Kramer, 'Matisse as a Sculptor,' "Bulletin," Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, vol. LXIX, 1966, no. 336, p. 58.
Leymarie, Jean, Herbert Read and William S. Lieberman. Henri Matisse. Berkeley; Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1966, no. 132, ill.
"Handbook of the Cone Collection, Revised Edition," (Baltimore: BMA, 1967) 54, no. 147.
Marchiori, Giuseppe. Matisse. Milan: Amilcare Pizzi, 1967, p. 81, no. 76 (published as “Le Tiarè”), ill.
Herbert Read, "Art & Alienation: The Role of the Artist in Society," (London: Thames & Hudson, 1967) 121, 172, pl. 40.
Albert Elsen, 'The Sculpture of Matisse, Part III: Primitivism, Partial Figures and Portraits,' "Art Forum," 7: 3, Nov., 1968, p. 261.
"Life," 11 Sep. 1970, ill. p. 48.
Albert Elsen, "The Sculpture of Matisse," (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1972) 170-74 .
"Calendar," Walker Art Center, June 1972.
Legg, Alicia. The Sculpture of Matisse. New York, NY: Museum of Modern Art, 1972, cat. no. 64, pages 40-41.
Elderfield, John. Matisse in the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art, Including Remainder-Interest and Promised Gifts. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1978, p. 216, fig. 105.
Mannering, Douglas. The Art of Matisse. London: Optimum Books, 1982, page 66.
Nickolas Watkins, "Matisse," (Oxford: Phaidon, 1984) no. 157.
Isabelle Monod-Fontaine, "The Sculpture of Henri Matisse," (London: The Arts Council of Great Britain, 1984) cat. # 64.
Jack Flam, ed., "Matisse A Retrospective," (New York: Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, Inc. (distributed by Macmillan Publishing Company, 1988).
Jack Flam, "Matisse in The Cone Collection The Poetics of Vision," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2001, pl. 37, p. 85, ill.
Dorothy Kosinski, Jay McKean Fisher, Steven Nash, "Matisse: Painter as Sculptor," (Yale University Press: New Haven and London, 2007) cat. no. 78, p. 272, ill. pp. 196, 197.
Fillion, Susan. Miss Etta and Dr. Claribel: Bringing Matisse to America. Boston: David R. Godine, 2011, page 39
Baltimore Museum of Art. The Baltimore Museum of Art: Celebrating a Museum. Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2014.
Cozzi, Leslie and Katherine Rothkopf (eds). "A Modern Influence: Henri Matisse, Etta Cone, and Baltimore." Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2021. ill.
Inscribed: "HM 1/10" right back.
Markings: "Cire - C. Valsuani - perdue"
