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Lot Essay
Zuloaga painted two portraits of Julia Stong Goetchius Fahnestock, wife of the financier and investment banker William Fahnestock. One was painted in Cannes in 1923, while less is known about the creation of the other, though it must have been painted by 1930, when the Fahnestocks were noted as having their New York home re-done. The other known portrait of Julia Fahnestock hangs today at Rosecliff in Newport, where the Fahnestocks had a home (along with homes in New York City and Katonah, NY). The Newport picture is more somber, with a less detailed background and the sitter depicted wearing a dark, unadorned dress, and was exhibited in New York in 1928. The coastal setting and slightly younger appearance of the sitter suggest that this might be the 1923 portrait.
Like many other wealthy Americans at the time, the Fahnestocks were eager to have their portrait painted by Zuloaga. He painted a number of American patrons during his lifetime, generally on quite a large scale, and he was championed among American collectors by no less a portraitist than John Singer Sargent, who was instrumental in organizing Zuloaga's first exhibition in America in 1909.
Like many other wealthy Americans at the time, the Fahnestocks were eager to have their portrait painted by Zuloaga. He painted a number of American patrons during his lifetime, generally on quite a large scale, and he was championed among American collectors by no less a portraitist than John Singer Sargent, who was instrumental in organizing Zuloaga's first exhibition in America in 1909.