Morée—1916
Converging on a 1916 Date
The Circumstantial Evidence
Physical and material clues suggest a date range for Morée between 1916 and 1922. But to argue for an earlier placement—specifically in 1916—we turn to two pieces of circumstantial evidence: its visual relationship to Jeanne Marie Bourgeois, painted by Picabia in 1917, and Apolinère Enameled, begun by Duchamp in late 1916 and completed in early 1917.
Strong visual echoes suggest Jeanne Marie Bourgeois was made in response to Morée—not independently.
If Jeanne Marie Bourgeois followed Morée, then Picabia must have seen it
before July 1917, when he left New York for Europe.To justify a 1916 date, we turn to Apolinère Enameled. That work already plays with Author/Title Punning—
but tentatively, or even playfully. The same gesture appears more deliberate—more sharply defined—in Morée.If Morée dates to 1916, then we have to ask:
Who could have painted it?
The list is of candidates is very short.
Favor, Ruhl & Co. "MONOGRAM" Board
To the left is the stamp on the back of the Morée painting.
It is the older of the two styles. The differences are subtle,
but easily recognizable. This stamp is 1922 and earlier.
The older style has less space between the cities and is
justified with the rule above it. (same width as the rule)
The Stamp on the right is the newer style (1923 and later).
The difference presents itself in the list of cities.
The newer stamp (right) has extra spaces between the cities.
Also the newer style has the cities extending beyond the
rule above it. (wider than the rule)
As of now, this 1922 painting represents the only dated artwork we that
have found that is executed on a Favor, Ruhl & Co. board with the older
stamp style.The ones listed below are not dated, but they have the older stamp style
and the dates can be inferred by the names of the performers and their
known appearances.
Drawings on Favor, Ruhl Board Suggest Earlier Potential Timeline for Morée
Eight theatrical costume sketches, each executed on Favor, Ruhl & Co.’s Monogram illustration board, provide new evidence for dating the enigmatic painting Morée. Each features a stamped board identical in wording, typeface, and spacing to the one used for Morée. Until now, the earliest known example of this exact stamp came from a 1922 drawing. These newly surfaced works
push that date back as early as 1916.
The dating is confirmed by handwritten inscriptions on the backs of the drawings, listing performers tied to the Ziegfeld Follies and other New York revues from the 1910s and early 1920s. Among the clearest names:
Edith Whitney — confirmed in Ziegfeld Follies of 1915
Katherine Brady — appeared in Ziegfeld Follies of 1918
Jay Brennan — listed in Follies programs from 1918
Other names span a cross-section of chorus and feature performers whose careers suggest a production range from 1916 to 1921.
The key takeaway: these drawings use the same board as Morée, proving that this specific Favor, Ruhl board was in active circulation by 1916. That shifts Morée’s potential creation date years earlier than previously confirmed.
When combined with performance rosters, corroborating names, and the overall period style, the evidence suggests Morée
was made between 1916 and 1922, and—given other clues on this site—most likely in late 1916 or early 1917. This aligns directly with New York Dada’s emergence and the moment just before Picabia painted Jeanne Marie Bourgeois, which
we believe strongly echoes Morée.
By matching these undated drawings to theatrical records, we now have an earlier lower bound for the use of this exact
Favor, Ruhl & Co. “MONOGRAM” board.
