Probably (Gimbel Brothers, Philadelphia), by 20 January 1920; probably sold 1920 to William J. Hughes [1863-1938], Washington, D.C.;[1] his estate; sold June 1939 to (Downtown Gallery, New York);[2] sold January 1942 to Richard A. Loeb, New York; sold 1956 to (Downtown Gallery, New York);[3] purchased 7 May 1957 by NGA. [1] Letters of 20 January and 14 February 1920 from G.E. Kelley, of Gimbel Brothers, to William J. Hughes (private collection), describe a painting, 18 x 14 inches, that is likely _My Gems_, and offer it for sale, explaining (20 January), "I bought it outright from a man who needed cash and was indeed pleased to find such an example." Hughes' reply has not survived; the specific date of his purchase of _My Gems_ is unknown. Hughes was a lawyer with the office of the solicitor general in Washington, D.C. Like Harnett, he was the son of Irish immigrants to Philadelphia. Although separated in age by fifteen years, the two men became friends and maintained a correspondence even after both moved from Pennsylvania. Prompted by his friendship with the artist, Hughes later amassed a collection of twenty-one late nineteenth-century still-life paintings. See John Davis, "Notes on a Harnett Collector: The 'Mysterious' W.J. Hughes," _Archives of American Art Journal_ 32, no. 2 (1992): 16-26. [2] The Papers of William J. Hughes, Sr., box 9, folder 18, Georgetown University Archives, Washington, D.C., contain correspondence between Edith Halpert of the Downtown Gallery and William J. Hughes, Jr., son of the collector, relating to the sale of most of the Hughes collection to Halpert. Also preserved is an estate inventory of twenty-one paintings, in which the NGA picture is listed and described as no. 3. See also Downtown Gallery Papers, Archives of American Art, microfilm ND/27, frames 100-101. [3] Edith Halpert's letters of 13 May 1957 and 25 March 1961 (in NGA curatorial files) provide provenance information.