Antoine Blanchard
Along the Louvre
c. 1950s

About the Item

Antoine Blanchard (French, 1910-1988) "Along the Louvre" Oil on Canvas Signed Lower Right approx 18 x 22 inches (site) approx. 26.5 x 30 inches (framed) Notes on the Authentication of Antoine Blanchard’s Paintings: The vast majority of Blanchard’s paintings were smaller works, which were sent to the United States in tubes and stretched and framed by the galleries that sold them. Virtually all of these Blanchards were painted in European centimeter sizes, which convert to 13” x 18” or 18” x 21 1/2?, but on very rare occasions he painted much larger works in American sizes – such as 24” x 36” – on commission for dealers such as Howard Morseburg in Los Angeles or the dapper Wally Findlay, who had a chain of galleries. The first way to assess the authenticity of a Blanchard work is the size. The popular forgeries were painted in common American sizes to make framing less expensive as the imported French or Belgian frames that were used then were as expensive as the faked paintings. While Blanchard did paint a few 20” x 24” paintings for Wally Findlay, these are exceedingly rare and will have the Findlay stamp on the reverse. Virtually all of the inauthentic paintings, the forgeries, were painted in the popular 12” x 16,” 16” x 20,” and 20” x 24” American sizes. Once Blanchard’s work was selling briskly through galleries and retailing for several hundred dollars, other painters – who were then getting ten or twenty dollars for their paintings when they sold – took notice and began to imitate his work. These works were painted abroad, purchased by agents and then sent to lesser galleries, furniture stores and frame shops in the United States where they were sold for a fraction of what an authentic Blanchard sold for. Many were imported unsigned and then signed in the United States, sometimes even with a black marking pen. The vast majority of the Blanchard forgeries were done by the same artist or pair of artists and, to the experienced authority, they are as easy to recognize as the real paintings as the colors tend to be overly saturated, the draftsmanship is inferior, with blocky heads on the ever present white horses. They were often framed in knobby, inexpensive Mexican-made frames, often distributed by the old L.A. Frame on West 7th Street in Los Angeles. Thus few people were fooled at the time. These were also painted in standard American sizes, which make them stand out from the real Blanchards. However, now these faux-Blanchards are more than forty years old and have the patina of age to obscure their less-than-immaculate conception. There are now hundreds of these Blanchard copies on the market and the artist’s failure to adopt some form of French trademark for his chosen nom de plume has made life difficult for the less experienced dealer or collector. (Copyright, 2001, 2007, 2012, 2015, Jeffrey Morseburg, not to be reproduced without specific written permission. Jeffrey Morseburg is an appraiser, archivist, researcher and writer. His family began working with Blanchard’s work in the 1960s and, because it was his job to stretch and frame the canvasses as they came in from Europe, he became intimately familiar with the paintings and the artist’s evolution. He authenticates Blanchard’s work today.)

Creator:
Antoine Blanchard (1910-1988, French)
Creation Year:
c. 1950s
Dimensions:
Height: 26.5 in (67.31 cm)Width: 30 in (76.2 cm)Depth: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)
Medium:
Oil,Canvas
Movement & Style:
Impressionist
Period:
Mid-20th Century
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Missouri, MO
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU74733662031
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