Paul César Helleu

Dormeuse sur un Canape

Circa: 1900

"Mlle Landsberg" (grade planche, pl. 16), 1914 Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954) Signed and Numbered Lower Right Edition 12/15 Image size: 7 7/8 x 4 5/16 inches Sheet size: 17 11/16 x 12 1/2 inches With frame: 19 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches Henri Matisse came from a family who were of Flemish origin and lived near the Belgian border. At eight o'clock on the evening of December 31, 1869, he was born in his grandparents' home in the town of Le Cateau in the cheerless far north of France. His father was a self-made seed merchant who was a mixture of determination and tightly coiled tension. Henri had no clear idea of what he wanted to do with his life. He was a twenty-year-old law clerk convalescing from appendicitis when he first began to paint, using a box of colors given to him by his mother. Little more than a year later, in 1890, he had abandoned law and was studying art in Paris. The classes consisted of drawing from plaster casts and nude models and of copying paintings in the Louvre. He soon rebelled against the school's conservative atmosphere; he replaced the dark tones of his earliest works with brighter colors that reflected his awareness of Impressionism. Matisse was also a violinist; he took an odd pride in the notion that if his painting eye failed, he could support his family by fiddling on the streets of Paris. Henri found a girlfriend while studying art, and he fathered a daughter, Marguerite, by her in 1894. In 1898 he married another woman, Amelie Parayre. She adopted the beloved Marguerite; they eventually had two sons, Jean, a sculptor and Pierre who became an eminent art dealer. Relations between Matisse and his wife were often strained. He often dallied with other women, and they finally separated in 1939 over a model who had been hired as a companion for Mme. Matisse. She was Madame Lydia, and after Mme. Matisse left, she remained with Matisse until he died. Matisse spent the summer of 1905 working with Andre Derain in the small Mediterranean seaport of Collioure. They began using bright and dissonant colors. When they and their colleagues exhibited together, they caused a sensation. The critics and the public considered their paintings to be so crude and so roughly crafted that the group became known as Les Fauves (the wild beasts). By 1907, Matisse moved on from the concerns of Fauvism and turned his attention to studies of the human figure. He had begun to sculpt a few years earlier. In 1910, when he saw an exhibition of Islamic art, he was fascinated with the multiple patterned areas and adapted the decorative universe of the miniatures to his interiors. As a continuation of his interest in the "exotic", Matisse made extended trips to Morocco in 1912 and 1913. At the end of 1917, Matisse moved to Nice; he would spend part of each year there for the remainder of his life. A meticulous dandy, he wore a light tweed jacket amd a tie when he painted. He never used a palette, but instead squeezed his colors on to plain white kitchen dishes...

Very fine print on verge crème. Some small traces of oxidation, dust and some flowerings on external edges of sheet, otherwise excellent conditions. Full margins. Ref. Wentworth 50.

Beautiful print on verge crème, 2° state on 3, with letters printed in red. Stamp “Lugt 1545”. Little crack and fold on lower left margin of the sheet. Some small traces of oxidati...

Etching with drypoint on cream wove paper, 11 3/4 x 13 3/4 inches (297 x 347 mm), full margins. Signed in pencil and numbered 32/40, lower margin. Minor mat tone and several small lo...

Sportsmen. 1908. Etching and drypoint. Exsteens 271.i/ii. 11 1/4 x 5 3/4 (sheet 17 3/8 x 12 1/4). Series: Les Bars. From the first state edition of 30 proofs with the remarque sketch...

Image size: 8.6x13.9 cm. Original drypoint on Chine Appliqué realized by Matisse in 1929 in an edition of only 25 prints. Signed and numbered in pencil lower right. Excellent conditi...

This is a rare New York image by Levon West Levon West, who also used the name Ivan Dimitri, was born on February 3, 1900 in Centerville, North Dakota. ...

"Mr. Thirteen" is an etching, engraving and drypoint created in 1995, edition: 12 signed in pencil. The print has an embossed chop in the lower right corner, a capital P in a circl...

The image show a panoramic view of the architectural arches and the boats in the harbor of Dieppe in Normandy France. Dieppe was occupied by German naval and army forces after the f...

This refined etching and drypoint was realized by the esteemed American artist Troy Kinney in the United States circa 1920. The work features two dancing figures- a woman leaning against the male figure behind her, perhaps moments before being hurled into the air or spun in a graceful twirl. She dons a tutu and ballet slippers that are loosely and abstractly rendered against a white background. The gentleman sports a white shirt and black vest. Both of them have a shock of flaxen hair that offers a beautiful tonal complement to the textured muted jade background. With its refined color palate, clean modernist lines, and masterful handling of the medium, this piece would be a winning addition to any interior regardless of the style of interior. Given the artist's importance and placement within esteemed collections (private and institutional), this piece represents a winning acquisition for collectors of first rate modern art as well as exquisite objects. It comes presented in a custom gilded gallery frame and is in excellent vintage condition. Troy Sylvanus Kinney (December 1, 1871 – January 29, 1938) was an American artist, best known for his compelling works portraying dance performers, fanciful subjects, and classically styled nudes...