Focus on The Valley of Tears (Doré) and explore the History.
The painting was one of twenty large canvasses commissioned from Doré in 1867, following the enormous success of his illustrated Holy Bible. They were exhibited in London at the Doré Gallery from 1869 to 1892, where they were seen by around two and a half million visitors. Most of the paintings, including this one, were then sent on tour in the United States, where they were shown in a traveling exhibition until 1898. After that they were apparently forgotten until they were found in 1947 in a Manhattan warehouse, sold at auction and dispersed. Three of these paintings, including the current one were bought by the Petit Palais, in 1984-1985. In 2005 it underwent conservation work and was remounted, going back on display in 2006.A study for the work by Doré also exists. It was acquired in 1992 from the Samuel Clapp Fiduciary Company Ltd. and is in the collection of the Strasbourg Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.
Manhattan Petit Palais illustrated Holy Bible Strasbourg Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art