Katherine Rothkopf

Etta loved this painting. When she came to visit Matisse in 1932 I believe, he didn’t have any other paintings and so he reluctantly sold it to her and she was absolutely thrilled. In the next summer she came back for her annual visit to Nice to see her old friend and to see what was available. And he really didn’t have any other paintings to offer her, so he decided as a treat, that he would have the model come back and pose for her as a gift, a tableau vivant as a gift for his greatest patron of the time.

Etta Cone

My visit to Matisse was a joy; he said I have a surprise for you. And presently I turned and there sat the model in the yellow taffeta dress with the large yellow hat on, just in front of the window, the exact reproduction of my latest painting. His bedroom, which is his studio when he is well, was the scene of this picture. Needless to say, I was thrilled.

Katherine Rothkopf

No, it really meant so much to her that he was taking the trouble to do something so special.