Joaquín Sorolla (1863-1923) won over the European and North American public through a series of outstanding individual exhibitions, put on by the Hispanic Society of America in Paris (1906), London (1908), the United States (1909) and later (1911), the Institution of Art in Chicago and el Museo de Arte de San Luis. From then onwards, numerous large museums and collections strived to incorporate the work of this great painter.
As evidenced by the notes and drawings in this sample, the vast human landscape of New York City quickly caught his eye. The little known portrait of his daughter, titled Elena con sombrero (Elena with a hat), formed part of the exhibitions in both Chicago and Saint Louis.
The fact that Sorolla’s New York exhibition – so close to Giner, Cossío, and the institute – was first organised by the Hispanic society at its headquarters is the highest proof of the spiritual connection between Archer M. Huntington and ILE.
Joaquín Sorolla, Elena con sombrero, 1910. Colección particular. Joaquín Lorente Boyer.