Guy Pène Du Bois Art

Portia Novella Le Brun or “Stephanie” Oil pastel on paper, 1941 Preliminary study for this work on the reverse (see last illustration) Signed in ink lower left Provenance: William Pe...

Guy Pene Du Bois (1884 - 1958) Head, 1934 Oil on canvas 15 3/4 x 11 1/2 inches Signed and dated upper right Provenance: The artist's estate Graham Gallery, New York Private Collection, New York (acquired from the above circa 1985) Pène du Bois descended from French immigrants who settled in Louisiana in 1738 and was raised in a Creole household. He was born in 1984 in Brooklyn, NY and first studied with William Merritt Chase at the New York School of Art and later continued his training with Robert Henri. Pène du Bois was greatly impressed with Henri's credo that "real life" was subject matter for art and throughout his life a realist philosophy informed his art as well as his parallel career, art criticism. In 1905, Pène du Bois made his first visit to Paris where he painted scenes of fashionable people in cafes rendered in the dark tonalities and impasto associated with the Ashcan School. By 1920, he had achieved his mature style, which was characterized by stylized, rounded, almost sculptural figures painted with invisible brushstrokes. The subjects of his paintings were often members of society whom he gently satirized. In 1924, Pène du Bois and his wife, Floy, left for France where they would remain until 1930. Returning to America showcases pictures the artist produced after this very productive period abroad. After five years of living in France, Pène du Bois was able to observe American life with fresh eyes. His work becomes more psychologically intense and less satirical. In Girl at Table a slender, blond is shown gazing at a small statue that she holds at arm's distance. The meaning is elusive, but a powerful sense of longing is evoked. Similarly, paintings such as Dramatic Moment and Jane are taut with unresolved dialogue. Both pictures depict mysterious interiors in which a lone woman anxiously awaits the denouement of a suspenseful scene. Other pictures, for example, Chess Tables, Washington Square and Bar, New Orleans, recall Pene du Bois's Ashcan origins in their depiction of urban entertainment. During this period, landscape becomes an important subject for Pène du Bois. Girl Sketching...

A gorgeous rendition of a stylish yet thoughtful young woman with a typical 20s Bob haircut, seated on a sofa. It is an original drawing by Guy Pène du Bois, the American modernist m...

Signed and dated in ink lower left Note: A graceful depiction with delicate shading of the light that falls on the body of the model. Provenance: William Pène du Bois (1916-1993)...