Pigeons at Sensōji (Asakusa Kannon Temple)

1878-1884
Giuseppe de Nittis (1846-1884), purchased at Exposition Universelle de 1878, Paris, France [1]

1884- ?
Léontine Lucile (Gruvelle) De Nittis (1843-1913), inherited upon death of her husband [2]

?-2000
Unidentified French Collector [3]

2000
Robert G. Sawers Ltd., London, purchased from an unidentified French collector [4]

From 2000
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Robert G. Sawers Ltd. [5]

Notes:

[1] Giuseppe De Nittis was an Italian-born impressionist painter who studied alongside Édouard Manet. He lived and worked in both Paris, France and Barletta, Italy. Inspired by the arts of Japan, he developed a small, albeit significant, collection of Japanese works.
This painting is likely the same kakemono depicting pigeons "frolicking at the edge of a stone basin," which De Nittis purchased at the Exposition Universelle. See Louis Gonse, "L'Art Japonais" [book] Tome 1 (Paris: A Quantin, 1883), p. 307 and Edmond de Goncourt, "La Maison d'un Artist" [book] Tomb 2 (Paris: G. Charpentier, 1881), p. 351.
The painting remained in De Nittis' collection until his death in 1884. See Manuela Moscatiello, "La collection d'art japonais e Giuseppe De Nittis" in "Arts Asiatiques" [Journal] Vol. 59 (2004), pp. 127 and 132. The probate inventory prepared after De Nittis' death is reproduced in Moscatiello's article, p. 132. Watanabe Seitei's painting is likely the work itemized as "un panneau en soie, les pigeons, prise soixante francs" (silk panel, pigeons, valued sixty francs)."

[2] When her husband died, Léontine De Nittis inherited all her husband's collections. Faced with substantial debt after his passing, she sold off select works to individual collectors. There was never a large, public sale. When Léontine died in 1913, she bequeathed her property and the remainder of her husband's estate to the Town Hall of Barletta, Italy, where Giuseppe was born. One can see this the De Nittis Collection at the Palazzo Della Marra in Barletta, Italy. See Moscatiello, 131.

This work never went to Barletta. Rather, Léontine sold this painting sometime after De Nittis death, while living in Paris.

[3] See note 4.

[4] Robert G. Sawers, owner of the London-based gallery, Robert G. Sawers Ltd. reported that the painting had been in France since shortly after the date inscribed on the painting, 1877, and that he purchased it from a French collector. Sawers did not identify the French collector. See acquisition justification, February 2000.

Between 1972 and 2015, Robert G. Sawers owned and operated the gallery Robert G. Sawers Ltd. in West Hampstead, London. He specialized in the sale of Japanese prints and drawings.

[5] The Freer Gallery of Art purchased the work from Robert G. Sawers Ltd. on February 8, 2000. See Robert G. Sawers Ltd. invoice, original in object file.

Research updated February 28, 2023.