Louis Charles Moeller (American, 1855-1930)
The Dubious Tale
Oil on canvas
30 x 48 inches (76.2 x 121.9 cm)
Signed lower right: Louis Moeller N.A. 

PROPERTY FROM A TEXAS ESTATE

PROVENANCE:
Closson Galleries, Cincinnati, Ohio;
James S. Copley Library, San Diego, California;
Sale: Stair Galleries, Hudson, New York, June 23, 2012, lot 442;
Private collection, Beverly Hills, California;
Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas, May 10, 2014, lot 70206;
Acquired by the present owner from the above.

EXHIBITED:
Carnegie Art Galleries, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, "Dedication Souvenir of the Carnegie Library," November, 1895, no. 206;
The National Academy of Design, New York, "Seventy-first Annual Exhibition," March 30-May 2, 1896.

LITERATURE:
Dedication Souvenir of the Carnegie Library, exhibition catalogue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1895, p. 76, no. 206;
"At the National Academy of Design," The Illustrated American,  April 11, 1896, p. 498.

Alternate Artist Spellings: "Moeller, Louis Charles"

Wax-lined canvas; minor frame wear along extreme edges; very faint stretcher creases visible under raking light; very light craquelure visible under raking light; stable surface; under UV exam, there appear to be several spots of inpainting in floor and rug in lower left quadrant, cosmetic inpainting/strengthening in draping folds of tablecloth near center bottom edge, crack-fill inpainting in shoes of seated man with newspaper as well as in pile of objects in lower right quadrant, and an approx. 6 inches long diagonal line of inpainting in background above seated figures at right, visible under raking light. Framed Dimensions 36.5 X 54.5 Inches