Acquired directly from the artist

Canvas is lined. Some minor but stable craquelure in figure's forehead and right side of her neck. There is also a minor web of craquelure in green tree at upper right with associated lifting. Rich surface impasto is intact. Under UV light, an uneven varnish fluoresces. There is a ½ inch stroke of inpainting towards center of largest firework. Several strokes at lower right corner.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The sitter's fond memories of the creation of the present portrait reveal the methods and personality of this great artist at work: "Around 1936/37 I was crowned Miss Paris and had the opportunity to celebrate at one of the great balls at Hôtel Lambert, which I certainly enjoyed very much as I was still very young. The beauty contest was more demure at that time, we wore long evening dresses, no swimming costumes – we revealed nothing. Later, around 1946, I was invited to the Bal de Tête which was held every year, where the women wore aigrettes and evening dresses. It was there that I first met the artist Kees van Dongen. I didn't know him at all, but I knew of him. He came over to our table and asked the Comtesse de Lal to whom he should address for permission to paint my portrait, and she answered: 'her husband of course'. My husband accepted on the condition that he could buy the painting, even though Van Dongen wanted to keep it, as he believed he was going to produce something of interest. Indeed, apparently the port༺rait is considered one of his best of that period.

I was very happy to have been noticed by Van Dongen; I presumably fitted his taste, but he didn't paint me as I was, he painted me the way he saw me, with huge eyes, which I don't have, and he rather embellished my appearance. He was above all a painter of modernity. He painted women of society and he always augmented the jewels that they wore in his portraits, which was a great discovery, as they loved being painted by him as a result. The day I sat for him, I wore the exact same outfit I wore when we met at the Hôtel Lambert; it was a thin woolen dress from Christian Dior's first collection, aigrettes on my head and a pearl necklace, although I didn't have the privilege of him enlarging them! He began by painting the background of the trees and the sky before my arrival in his studio, then he asked me to pose the way I was when we met. He completed the portrait in five days and called it Monique au Chapeau."