Joseph Durand-Ruel, at the New York City office of Durand-Ruel, responded to the letter of January 25, 1915, to clarify that the self-portrait in question was actually the painting The Artist's Family, and that Renoir "has always refused to part with it." Barnes tried for many years to acquire this work. After the artist's death, it went to his son Claude, who sold it to Barnes for $50,000 on February 18, 1927.
