Maurice de Vlaminck

Bottes de paille

Raoul Dufy 1877-1953 | French The Visit of the English Squadron to Le Havre Signed "Raoul Dufy" (lower center) Watercolor and gouache on paper Growing up along the coastline of th...

An English Post Impressionist gouache of trees in a landscape by noted artist Bernard Meninsky. The painting is signed bottom right and presented in a very fine custom patinated and gilt frame with cloth insert, under glass. There is an exhibition label to the back of the frame, giving the painting's location 'Cookham Dean' in Berkshire near the home of noted contemporary of Meninsky, Stanley Spencer. Provenance: The Boydell Galleries, Liverpool. A charming work when Meninsky was clearly showing the influence and his love for the paintings of Cezanne. The simplification of forms, as well as the flattening of landscape and the use of colour to give perspective. An earlier work by Meninsky but important in his artistic journey to his evolving style. Bernard Meninsky (25 July 1891–12 February 1950) was a British painter of figures and landscapes in oils, watercolour and gouache, a draughtsman and a teacher. Meninsky was born in Konotop, modern-day Ukraine, where his father was a tailor and the family were Yiddish-speaking Ukrainian Jews. They moved to Liverpool when Bernard was six weeks old. Although Meninsky left school at the age of eleven, his talent for art was demonstrated by the sale of a drawing to a local comic postcard business. While working as an errand boy during the day, he attended free classes in art in the evenings, and these enabled him to gain a place at the Liverpool School of Art. He studied there from 1906 to 1911, being financed by a succession of scholarships. He attended summer courses at the Royal College of Art, London, in August 1909 and August 1910, and in 1911 he won a scholarship to study at the Académie Julian in Paris for three months. With financial support from the Liverpool Jewish community and the Jewish Educational Aid Society (JEAS), Meninsky studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London in 1912. His contemporaries there included David Bomberg, Isaac Rosenberg...

Emprunt 6% Souscrivez (War Loan 6% Subscribe) Signed "Raoul Dufy" (lower right) Gouache on paper This vibrant gouache on paper by the renowned Raoul Dufy is not only a work of exceptional artistry, but also represents an important period in world history. The piece was a special commission ordered by the French government, who sought to encourage the French people to join in the post-war reconstruction efforts. Following World War I, the French government was destitute. The cost of the Great War had been tremendous not only in lives lost, but also in terms of infrastructure and finances. In order to reclaim its place as a great power on the world stage, France needed funds to reconstruct its key industries, and quickly. Thus, the government turned to one of the most famous French artists of the day - Raoul Dufy - to create this gouache on paper as an advertisement for the country's war bonds. The extraordinary work represents Dufy's own sense of patriotic duty. Entirely unique in his oeuvre, it is clear that Dufy wished to create something truly special to help his war-torn country. The artist deftly captures the industry of France in the colorful composition, showcasing bridges, buildings, ships and other key elements of the country's infrastructure in order to evoke the viewers' pride, patriotism and willingness to help. The words Emprunt 6% Souscrivez (War Loan 6% Subscribe) are boldly written across the top, seeking subscribers to a 6% interest loan to help rebuild the country - a very healthy return for the age. The powerful painting represents one of the most effective and extensive patriotic campaigns of all time. France relied heavily on the willingness of its citizens to lend money...

'Paris Booksellers Along the River Seine', gouache on paper (circa 1930s), by Lucien Génin. The used-book sellers (bouquinistes) you see along the Seine a...

'Parc des Buttes-Chaumont' in Paris, gouache on art paper, by Lucien Génin (circa 1930s). A charming depiction of well turned out Parisians enjoying a day at the park. Boaters, strollers and swans all co-mingle around the peaceful lake. The reflection of the rocky bluff in the water is superbly treated by Génin. It's a cheerful and uplifting image of days-gone-by in 1930s Paris. The park takes its name from the 'bare hill' (chauve-mont) that once occupied the site. It became a place where gypsum was mined, and where the limestone was quarried to be used in buildings in Paris and the United States. Worse, though, it was a site that also became a dumping ground. Luckily, during the 19th-century renovation of Paris under Napoleon III, chauve-mont was chosen as a place for a large park, as part of the emperor's fascination with endowing Paris with green spaces. The artificial lake created at that time wraps around a hilly central island. The lake attracts waterfowl and other birds and is stocked with fish. The 19th-century planners cleaned up the site and added tons of soil to fill the pits left by a limestone mining operation. Then dynamite was used to "sculpt" the site into the craggy shapes seen today, including the 50-metre-high central hill with cliffs, an interior grotto, pinnacles, and arches. Up on top, overlooking the rest of the park - and depicted in this artwork - is a small, round belvedere, based on the Roman Temple of Vesta in Italy. From that spot you can see a lovely view of Montmartre and the white cupolas of the Sacre-Coeur. The painting is in very good condition. It has been newly framed and glazed with museum-quality glass (anti-reflective and UV protection) to preserve this significant artwork for decades to come. Dimensions with frame: H 62 cm / 24.4" W 76 cm / 29.9" Dimensions without frame: H 48.5 cm / 19.1" W 63 cm / 24.8" About the Artist: After the devastation of the First World War, Lucien Génin (1894 - 1953) left his provincial home in the autumn of 1919 to find his fortune among the lively Parisians in the heart of Montmartre. Génin befriended the painters Frank Will, Gen Paul, Émile Boyer, Marcel Leprin...

Although a birth date for Hector Letellier is unknown, we do know that he was actively painting in the period 1910-1950. He had a predilection for painting sunlit landscapes and rath...