First exhibited at the 1905 Salon d'Automne in Paris, this work was at the center of the

controversy that led to the christening of the first modern art movement of the twentieth
century — Fauvism. The term fauve ("wild beast"), coined by an art critic, became forever
associated with the artists who exhibited their brightly colored canvases in the central gallery
(dubbed the cage centrale) of the Grand Palais.
Femme au chapeau marked a stylistic change from the regulated brushstrokes of Matisse's
earlier work to a more expressive individual style. His use of non-naturalistic colors and loose
brushwork, which contributed to a sketchy or "unfinished" quality, seemed shocking to the
viewers of the day.
The artist's wife, Amélie, posed for this half-length portrait. She is depicted in an elaborate outfit
with classic attributes of the French bourgeoisie: a gloved arm holding a fan and an elaborate
hat perched atop her head. Her costume's vibrant hues are purely expressive, however; when
asked about the hue of the dress Madame Matisse was actually wearing when she posed for the
portrait, the artist allegedly replied, "Black, of course."
The expatriate Stein family (Michael, Sarah, Leo, and Gertrude) bought the painting soon after
its initial showing. Although Leo characterized the work as "the nastiest smear of paint I had
ever seen," the Steins recognized its importance and began a long-lasting patronage of the
French artist. Sarah and Michael Stein subsequently brought the painting to San Francisco where
it was bought in the 1950s by the Haas family. In 1990 Elise S. Haas bequeathed to the Museum
thirty-seven paintings, sculptures, and works on paper by modernist masters, among
them Femme au chapeau.
Woman with a Hat (La femme au chapeau) is a painting by Henri Matisse. An oil on canvas, it
depicts Matisse's wife, Amelie.[1] It was painted in 1905 and exhibited with the work of André
Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck, and several other artists, now known as "Fauves" at the 1905
Salon d'Automne.
Critic Louis Vauxcelles, in comparing the paintings of Matisse and his associates with a
Renaissance-type sculpture that shared the room with them, used with the phrase "Donatello
chez les fauves..."[2] (Donatello among the wild beasts).[3] His comment was printed on 17
October 1905 in Gil Blas,[2] a daily newspaper, and passed into popular usage.[3][4]
Although the Fauve works on display were condemned by many—"A pot of paint has been flung
in the face of the public", declared the critic Camille Mauclair—they also gained some favorable
attention.[3] The painting that was singled out for attacks was Matisse's Woman with a Hat,
which was bought by Gertrude and Leo Stein: this had a very positive effect on Matisse's morale,
which had suffered with the bad reception of his work.[3]
Gertrude and Leo's sister-in law Sarah Stein (the wife of their elder brother Michael) claimed to
have been the original purchaser of this painting, not Gertrude (Leo did not like the painting at
first). One can see it in photographs of Sarah and Michael's home on Rue Madame. It was a
centerpiece in Sarah's home in Palo Alto, California for many years.
Sarah Stein later sold the painting to her friend Elise Haas who donated it to SFMOMA.