Old Woman

About the Artwork

In the nearly 200 portraits Chaïm Soutine painted, he was remarkably consistent in his approach:he almost always painted solitary, unidentified models, seated in half- or three-quarter-length poses facing frontally with hands placed on the hips or folded in the lap, as seen here. The physical distortions—the woman’s large hands, arched green eyebrows, and pointed chin—executed with agitated, slashing brushstrokes heighten the portrait’s expressive qualities. The sitter here is remarkably similar to the figure in another Soutine portrait of a schoolteacher named Melanie at the Columbus Museum of Art.

Inscriptions

Signed lower right: "Soutine"

Provenance

(A. Mak, Amsterdam) (October 11, 1932, lot 75). P. A. Regnault, Laren, The Netherlands (October 11, 1932 -- October 22-23, 1958). (Paul Brandt, Amsterdam, "Collection de taubleaux modernes de feu P. A. Regnault") (October 22-23, 1958, lot 127). (Marlborough Fine Art, Ltd., London) (October 22-23, 1958 -- September 1961. Peter A. Putnam, Cleveland, OH (September 1961-1988).

Exhibition history

The Year in Review for 1988. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-May 14, 1989). Chaïm Soutine (1893-1943), l'ordre du chaos. Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, France (October 2, 2012-January 21, 2013). Julie Mehretu: Portals. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 16-November 13, 2022).

Quick Overview

Artist: Chaïm Soutine (Russian, 1893–1943)
Date: c. 1923–24
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: Framed: 88.9 x 78.7 x 8.6 cm (35 x 31 x 3 3/8 in.); Unframed: 65 x 54 cm (25 9/16 x 21 1/4 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
Credit line: Gift of the Mildred Andrews Fund
Accession no.: 1988.94

More by Chaïm Soutine in museum collections

Still Life with Rayfish
Chaïm Soutine
1923 · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of ArtAT-00009495

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.