Ralph Wormeley Curtis (Boston, 1854 - 1922, Beaulieu-sur-Mer)
Letter to Isabella Stewart Gardner from Villa Masse, Cap-D'Ail, Monaco with Enclosed Newspaper Clipping, 27 March 1901
Ink on paper
Long Gallery
Commentary
Ralph Wormeley Curtis, a family friend and occasional art advisor to Isabella, writes to her with information on the painting Saint Engracia, by Bartolomé Bermejo. Curtis had seen the work when he visited the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris and pursued its sale on behalf of Isabella. While his efforts in 1901, represented here, were unsuccessful, Isabella acquired the painting three years later at auction and displayed it prominently in her Tapestry Room.