Femme-fleur

In episode three of Constant 1-on-1 the podcast Ronald Tolman tells an ankedote about the provenance of the painting, Femme-fleur aka Personnage de nuit [1949]. In the CoBrA period Constant had an important exhibition opening [this could be the exhibition at Henry Schou in 1951*]. He does not have a suit and convinces a reluctant tailor to choose a painting as payment for a tailoredmadesuit.

In 1990 he gets a phone call from Christie's London to authenticate a Cobra painting which has been offered for sale for too low a price. Constant confirms that it is indeed a painting from his hand. It is the work he traded with the tailor in 1951. The tailor's children are selling the work because they want to build a house. The work sells for 345.000 Guilders, allowing the sellers to build their new house. Constant is very happy to hear that his trade back in the day has lead to the tailor's children being able to build a house. The new owner is the French actor and art collector Alain Delon.

*We assume it is an opening in Denmark because the archive entree for this work says that the painting was located in a collection in Denmark and the exhibition Malerier og tegningen at Henry Schou was the first solo exhibition Constant had in Denmark.