Jean Negulesco

'Two Women', Continuous Line Drawing, BAFTA, Maltese Falcon, Oscar, Hollywood

1969

Certification of authenticity stamped, verso, for Carlos Paez Vilaro (Uruguayan, 1923-2014) and painted circa 1984. Dedicated verso on old backing, 'To Arlene', signed and dated 1984...

Signed lower left, 'Marguerite Bordet' (French, 1909-2014) and painted circa 1965. Titled, on old label, 'Le Modele'. Previously with: Crocker Galleries, CA From an early age, Marguerite Bordet avidly pursued both drawing and painting. In the late 1930's and early '40s, she attended the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris where she studied with the sculptor, Antoniucci Volti (Italian, 1915-1989). After several years, and feeling increasingly disconnected with the academic atmosphere of the Salon, she left to develop her independent artistic style. Bordet's first public exhibition took place at the Galerie Claude (1947) and, for the next forty years, she continued to exhibit widely with success, both throughout France and internationally, including in Cairo (1955), Geneva (1960) and the United States (1966). A 1962 exhibition of her work showed a thematic rejection of the Academy's influence and the artist's shift to a more personal and spiritually driven style. Bordet continued to take frequent study trips to Italy, especially to Florence, where she was inspired by the Renaissance Masters. She also visited England (1975-76) where the works of J.M.W.Turner and John Martin at the Tate Museum had a pronounced impact on her development. In an interview with Hervé Serane, Marguerite Bordet described her artistic process in these words: "I start my painting with spots. Sometimes I cover it completely and everything is dark. But then it's stronger than me, I can't bear that there isn't an opening. Immediately, I place a Light. I need the shadow to bring out the Light. So I start with the shadow to create this Light. I cannot define why I need this Light so much. It's stronger than me. It's something that dominates me without my being able to explain it intellectually. It is for me an absolute necessity to seek the Light in the darkness.. You have to open like you open a window. You have to reveal. I remove the stains that obscure my painting to find the luminous background of the canvas.... I only paint with transparent colors and I apply several layers of glaze to preserve this light." Partial Exhibition Record: 1947 Paris, Galerie Claude 1951 Paris, Galerie Breteau - Cairo, Galerie Adam - Alexandria, l'Atelier 1954 Paris, Galerie Simone Bdinier 1955 Cairo, l'Atelier 1959 Paris, Galerie A. Weil 1960 Geneva, Galerie Motte 1962 Paris, Marignan Gallery 1964 Paris, Ror Volmar Gallery 1966 San Rafael (U.SA) International Museum 1966 Cagnes-sur-Mer, Castle Gallery...

Watercolour, felt tip pen, and pencil on paper, titled (lower left), 48cm x 37cm, (70cm x 58cm framed). It is in its original frame, although the glass and mount have been replaced. Patrick Procktor was part of an influential group of British artists in the 1960s. His early paintings were dynamic, abstract depictions of the male nude, before he established himself as one of the leading watercolourists of his generation from the 1970s His work is held in many major public collections. This work is after the soviet painting...

Paul Delvaux 1897-1994 Belgian Study for “L’Acropole” Signed and dated "P.Delvaux 1965" (lower right) Watercolor, pen and ink on paper This preliminary drawing for Paul Delvaux’s greatest masterpiece L’Acropole, which resides today in the Centre Pompidou in Paris, features the artist’s most beloved subject — mystical scenes of nude women. A centrally-placed, stoic woman draped in a long green gown stands with her arms outstretched by her sides. She gazes at another idealized woman in the foreground, lying nude on a chaise lounge, while behind her, multitudes of other women in white dresses undertake a long procession towards a distant door. The captivating scene exudes the unique Surrealist style for which the artist has become known. With this skillful rendering of the surreal setting, Delvaux has mastered depicting nude women in a sensual yet non-erotic manner. The artist drew inspiration from a variety of sources, including the futuristic writings of Jules Verne and the mythos of Homer, and blended them with his subconscious themes, which frequently included the nude female form. In combination with the loose concepts of form and perspective found in the 16th-century Mannerist paintings that Delvaux studied in Italy before World War II, his distinctive style served to create memorable dreamscapes without veering into lewdness. Like the very best Surrealist images, the work is both innovative and engaging. Paul Delvaux's earliest and most lasting influences in his art were the futuristic writings of Jules Verne and the mythos of Homer. After completing his initial artistic training at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Delvaux exhibited with Surrealists Dalí...