"Portrait of Ingeborg Ten Haeff" by Paul Lester Wiener

Details

Description

This 1940s, unsigned oil-on-canvas portrait, newly restored and framed, came from the estate of scholar John Githens (1937-2024) and artist … Read more This 1940s, unsigned oil-on-canvas portrait, newly restored and framed, came from the estate of scholar John Githens (1937-2024) and artist Ingeborg ten Haeff (1915-2011). The couple lived and hosted lively dinner parties at their Washington Square bohemian townhouse, where many of the furnishings were designed by ten Haeff’s first husband, the architect Paul Lester Wiener, the artist behind this painting. This portrait lived in the couple's home, along with a collection of art, some by friends of the couple, luminaries of modernism like Willem de Kooning, Alfonso Ossorio, and Constantino Nivola. The blond-haired sitter in the painting is Ingeborg ten Haeff herself, elegantly dressed in black with polychrome frills emerging from beneath the sleeves and neckline. Her arms are crossed and she is holding perhaps a letter. Her gaze is to the right and it is difficult to ascribe an emotion to her expression. What is she thinking? And if she is indeed holding a letter, what does it say?

Frame dimensions:
33 in. width
39.25 in. height
1.13 in. depth

Sight dimensions:
27.5 in. width
33.75 in. height

Condition notes:
This painting has undergone full conservation, including a full new canvas reline, by a professional restorer. It is presented here in a custom ebonized wood frame. See less