George Sand (1804-1876)
Aurore Sand had no children, and in 1958 she adopted George Smeets (1911-1970),
son of her friend Marthe Bray, and he became the inheritor and guardian of the
family’s holdings. This role passed to his widow Christine who passed away in 2018.
In 1992, Pierre Belfond and his wife Franca organized a show at his gallery on Rue
rue Guénéguad, Paris, in the 6th Arrondissement, called 150 Dessins et Aquarelles de
George Sand. (October 9-November 14, 1992). He also published the book by
Christian Bernadac called George Sand-Dessins Aquarelles-Les Montagnes Bleues, which
remains the best illustrated book on her art work. Bernadac (1937-2003) was a French
journalist and writer who became well known for his books on the Holocaust. He
was, like Belfond, a collector of drawings by writers.
George Sand’s house Nohant was classified as a National Historical Monument of
France in 1952. Upon Aurore’s death in 1961, it was purchased by the French
government and opened to the public as Maison de George Sand à Nohant.
Provenance
The artist, by descent to her son
Maurice Dudevant (1823-1889) (also known as Maurice Sand), by descent to his daughter
Aurore Sand (1866-1961) (sole inheritor on the death of her sister Gabriele in 1909, by descent to Aurore’s adopted son George Smeets Sand (1911-1970), and eventually to his widow
Christiane Smeets-Sand (died 2018);
Franca and Pierre Belfond, publishers and gallerists, 1970s-at least through 2008, inv.no. 784
Collection Aristophil, Paris
Their sale, Paris, Drouot, 10 November 2022, lot 133, together with 46 other works by Sand
Private collection, Paris
Jill Newhouse, New York, 2023
Exhibitions
Frankfurt, Schirn Kunsthalle, Turner Hugo Moreau: Entdeckung der Abstraktion, 6 October 2007 – 6 January 2008, cat.no. 57 ill., p. 103, fn. 68, p. 328, p. 335