In Homme au bain (painting), how is the History and acquisition by the MFA discussed?
Caillebotte created this work in 1884. He sent the painting to be exhibited at the Les XX show of 1888 in Brussels. The painting was controversial enough that it was removed from public view and placed in a small and inaccessible room. The painting was held by Caillebotte's heirs until it passed to another family, and then to a private collection in Switzerland in 1967.In preparation for its Degas and the Nude exhibition in 2011, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), decided to purchase the painting, which it already had held on loan since earlier that year.  The painting was bought for approximately $17 million. The chairman of the museum's European art department realized that they would be extremely unlikely to obtain donor funding for the purchase, because the painting depicted a male nude – difficult subject matter for attracting donors. To raise the funds, the MFA "deaccessioned" (sold) eight other paintings in its collection. The move was controversial, as the eight pieces had been given to the museum as gifts from benefactors. Those paintings were also by artists more recognized to the general public than the lesser-known Caillebotte: they included work by Monet, Renoir and Gauguin. Others defended the move by the MFA: Boston Globe editor Dante Ramos said acquiring the Caillebotte was "the kind of bold, adventurous move that a world-class museum ought to be making", while noting that there may not have been many benefactors willing to donate "a painting showing some random guy's naked butt." The painting became the museum's first Impressionist nude, and joined the one other work by Caillebotte, the still life Fruits sur un étalage.
The deaccessioned paintings were sold at two auctions at Sotheby's in November 2011 for a total of $18.72 million. They were:
Dante Ramos still life nude Monet Boston Impressionist Sotheby's Renoir Museum of Fine Arts Les XX Gauguin Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Brussels