Chloé (artwork)

Chloé made its debut in the Paris Salon in 1875 with great success. With that success, it and Lefebvre won the Gold Medal of Honour in 1875. It was subsequently displayed in art exhibitions such as the French Gallery at the Sydney International Exhibition in 1879 and the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880.

Chloé was then purchased by Dr. Thomas Fitzgerald of Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, for 850 guineas.[2] Controversy arose when the painting was to be exhibited on Sundays. The Presbyterian Assembly found the painting to be too scandalous to show on Sundays, so it had to eventually be taken down from galleries.[3] Upon Fitzgerald's death in 1908, the painting was auctioned off to Norman Figsby Young.[2] Henry Young and Thomas Jackson bought Chloé in 1908 from Norman Figsby Young and placed the painting in the bar of their hotel.[2]

Chloé captivated many soldiers who frequented the bar of Young and Jackson's Hotel during World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Letters were addressed to her from the trenches in Turkey, France, and Papua New Guinea, promising to return to her. American soldiers even went as far as coming up with a plan to abduct her.[2]

• Paris Salon Exhibition, 1875
• Sydney International Exhibition, 1879
• Melbourne International Exhibition (1880)
• Adelaide Gallery Exhibition, 1883
• Blamey House Women's Auxiliary
• Fundraiser, 1940
• National Gallery of Victoria 1883, 1995, 2000

• 1875 – won gold medal of Honour
• 1879 – Won highest award at the Sydney International Exhibition
• 1880 – Won highest award at the Melbourne International Exhibition

On Friday, 24 September 2004, at 8:30 pm, a hotel patron fell against the painting and caused long vertical cracks in its 5-millimetre (0.2 in)-thick protective glass.[4] Art experts said the damage was minor and would not affect the overall value of the painting.[4] It was repaired at the Ian Potter Conservation Centre in the Ian Potter Museum of Art in Melbourne, where it waited for protective German glass to be imported, and was restored to the hotel bar on 13 October 2004.[5]

The model for the painting was named Marie, not Chloé. Of Persian descent, she was born to a poor family in 1856. She left home at a young age and started posing for artists to gain some income for herself and her sister. She was 19 when she modelled for Chloé. There is controversy about the nature of her relationship with Lefebvre. Some have claimed that she had a sexual relationship with him, while others have said that he rejected her.[6] Another account says that he seduced both Marie and her sister. Whatever the truth, a year after Lefebvre completed the Chloé painting, he married her sister. A year after that, Marie hosted a party with close friends, during which she slipped away into the kitchen and made and drank a poisonous substance. The exact reason for her suicide remains unknown but some have speculated that she did it because of her unrequited love for Lefebvre.[3]

Chloé is to remain part of the hotel forever, as decided by the National Trust and Heritage of Victoria in 1988. The hotel holds free information tours and sessions to teach people the history, origins, and the prominence of the painting.