Rolf Armstrong Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Pastel on paper Created in 2018 in Paris, France Unique work Signed by the artist

Pastel on paper Created in 2018 in Paris, France Unique work Signed by the artist

Work on paper Brown wooden frame with glass pane 92 x 73 x 5 cm

Pastel on paper, signed bottom right Image size: 12 x 14 1/2 inches (30.5 x 36.75 cm) Contemporary style hand made frame This is a touching drawing of a young girl who is seen smili...

Paul César Helleu is regarded among the most sought-after society portraitists of his era, and his Belle Époque works rival those of his contemporaries John Singer Sargent and Giovanni Boldini. He is best remembered for capturing the era's most beautiful socialites, including Consuelo Vanderbilt, the Duchess of Marlborough, the Comtesse de Loriol Chandieu and the Comtesse Mathieu de Noailles, among others. This work, however, stands out in that it captures the charming likeness of one of his art world cohorts, Mathilde See, a Parisian-born decorator and painter of floral still lifes. She is the essence of the modern woman, captured in her fashionable dress as she strolls along the flower-lined streets of Paris. Commanding in size, Portrait de Mathilde See fully displays Helleu's mastery over the medium of pastel. The muted palette of greys and blues is typical of the artist, bringing a harmony and cohesiveness to the composition. Furthermore, Helleu cleverly alludes to See's own artistic output with a backdrop of vibrant floral blooms, enlivening the canvas and complementing the greens and blues of the peacock feather adorning her hat. The portrait is all the more significant thanks to its provenance. It was previously in the collection of A. Alfred Taubman, one of America's most successful entrepreneurs and one-time owner of Sotheby's. Considering Taubman encountered some of the most noteworthy and beautiful works of art ever made through his auction house, the fact that he chose this portrait by Helleu to grace his collection is a testament to its import. Born in Brittany in 1859, Helleu moved to Paris in 1876 in order to study at the École des Beaux-Arts. Like so many other artists of his generation, he was trained there under the Academic master Jean-Léon Gérôme. That same year, he also attended the Second Impressionist Exhibition...

Robert Philipp, 'Portrait of a Young Man', color pastel and wet brush, c. 1967. Signed in pencil, lower right. A fine, painterly drawing, on cream laid Michallet drawing paper. The artist's tack holes in the four sheet corners, in very good condition. Image size 19 x 11 1/2 inches (483 x 292 mm); sheet size 19 x 12 3/8 inches (483 x 314 mm). Archivally matted to museum standards, unframed. Provenance: Art Students League, from the artist’s personal portfolio. ABOUT THE ARTIST Robert Philipp (1895–1981) was a celebrated American Post-Impressionist painter known for his nudes, still lifes, and portraits. Noted art critic Henry McBride named Philipp one of America's top six painters of his generation. Philipp was an instructor of painting at the Art Students League, New York, for 33 years. Philipp was Secretary of the National Academy of Design, a National Academician, and a Benjamin Franklin Fellow at the Royal Society of Arts in London. His composition and painting style has been compared to the art of Edgar Degas and Pierre Auguste Renoir. In 1940, Philipp was invited to Los Angeles by Hollywood producer Louis B. Mayer to paint portraits of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie stars. The same year, Walter Wanger, producer of ‘The Long Voyage Home’, directed by John Ford and based on plays by Eugene O'Neill, contracted with Reeves Lewenthal, head of the Associated American Artists gallery in Manhattan, to bring nine well-known artists to the set and paint scenes from the movie and portraits of the actors in character. The artists included Robert Philipp, Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, Ernest Fiene, George Schreiber, Luis...

Giovanni Boldini 1842-1931 Italian Portrait of Lucie Gérard by Giovanni Boldini Signed “Boldini” (lower right) Pastel on canvas This exceptional portrait was composed by the great Giovanni Boldini, one of the most important portrait painters of the Belle Époque. The charming work captures the young, elegant French...

Master portrait artist and illustration legend Bob Peak captures the likeness, dignity and essence of Saudi Arabia's King Faisal for Time Magazine Cover ...

Red and green pastel portrait study of four faces in different poses, one male and one female, by Visionary artist Clayton Anderson (American, b. 1943). Signed and dated "Clayton 197...

An 80's style Art Deco work on paper of a Dancing Nude Lady by contemporary artist Erik Freyman. Collage with pastels on paper, signed lower right.

I apologize for the reflections on the glass of this exquisite Gaston Bouy pastel drawing. It's in a very nice frame in great condition, and I did not want...

Wolf Kahn Emily & The Baby II (Grace Borgenicht Gallery), 1960 Pastel on Paper. Hand signed by the artist on the front. Grace Borgenicht gallery label on the back Vintage frame inclu...