Ambroise Vollard, Paris (probably) 
Galerie Mouradion-Vallotton, Paris (probably)
Norman Winston, New York (probably acquired from the above 1930)
Niveau Gallery, New York by January 1946 (probably acquired from the above)
Perls Gallery, New York (acquired from the above January 1946)
Vladimir Horowitz, New York (acquired from the above October 1946)
A gift of the above in 1949 

New York, Museum of Modern Art, Recent Acquisitions, 1950
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Paintings, Sculpture & Graphic Arts from the Museum Collection, 1950
Charlotte, North Carolina, The Mint Museum, Carolina Carousel, 1950
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Paintings, Sculpture & Graphic Arts from the Museum Collection, 1951
Chambersburg, Pennsylvannia, Wilson College, Modern Arts Symposium, 1951
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Paintings, Sculpture & Graphic Arts from the Museum Collection, 1951-52
New York, Museum of Modern Art; Minneapolis, Minneapolis Institute of Arts; San Francisco, San Francisco Museum of Art & Toronto, The Art Gallery of Toronto, Les Fauves, 1952-53, no. 125
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Paintings, Sculpture & Graphic Arts from the Museum Collection, 1954
New York, Museum of Modern Art, XXVth Anniversary Exhibitions: Paintings, The Museum of Modern Art, 1954-55
Westport, Connecticut, Westport Community Art Assocation, George Rouault at the Leonid Kipnis Gallery, 1955
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Paintings, Sculpture & Graphic Arts from the Museum Collection, 1957-58
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Painting and Sculpture from the Museum Collection, 1964
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Permanent Collection, 1972
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Reinstallation of the Collection, 1981-82
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Selections from the Permanent Collection, Painting and Sculpture, 1986

"Painting and Sculpture in the Museum of Modern Art Supplement 1951," The Museum of Modern Art Bulletin, vol. 18, no. 2, Winter 1950-51
Alfred H. Barr, Jr., ed., Painting and Sculpture in the Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1958
Isabelle Rouault & Bernard Dorival, Rouault: L’Oeuvre peint, vol. I, Monte Carlo, 1988, no. 115, illustrated p. 50

Executed on paper laid down on canvas. Edges are reinforced with tape. There are a few small repaired tears to the paper running from the perimeter of the sheet due to the mounting process, notably diagonally across the lower right corner. A few minor spots of frame abrasion along the lower edge with a few associated spots of paint loss. A few thin, flattened creases running along the rim of the figure's hat, to the figure's hair and to the right of his mouth. Under UV light there is a varnish which is difficult to read through. However, a few small spots of fluorescence are visible along the perimeter, possibly to address prior frame abrasion, as well as two small spots towards the center of the upper right quadrant. Other fine. This work is in good overall condition.
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.

Fabrice Hergott writes, "The world Rouault painted has nothing in common with everyday reality. He shows us the dark aspect of each individual lying behind the superficial mask of the brothel or of the circus. Thus, his clowns and horse-riders are not the characters from the Cirque Fernando, which Rouault must have seen as a child, but the face of people he saw around him in the street" (Fabrice Hergott, "The Early Rouault," in Georges Rouault, The Early Years, 1903-1920 (exhibition catalogue), Royal Academy of Art, London, 1993, p. 22). 

In the present work, the artist envelops the figure represented, employing an expressive palette that communicates an emoꦜtional depth in deep reds and bl꧙acks. The figure's intensity is further emphasized through a combination of rapid, energetic brushwork and Rouault's characteristic build-up of paint, suggesting that he returned to the painting more than once