Top Left: “Le Coq Jaune” Marc Chagall

Etching on Arches paper, 17.5” x 11.25”

Top Right: “15th Exhibition of the International Society” Realier-Dumas

Maîtres de l’Affiche Litho

Bottom Left:“Le Jockey” Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Lithograph, 20.25” x 14.25”

Helleu, also a French painter, became the definition of elegance and hedonism for Parisian high society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of his friends and patrons were women, and his work was inspired by their natural beauty and poise. His friendship with fellow artists Sargent and Whistler also influenced his work. Helleu’s soft, expressive strokes and his subjects’ captivating poses create a clean and balanced composition. Helleu adds highlights of color to his work that accentuates the physical allure of sophisticated women in a simple style laced with grace. Lautrec grew up on an estate in southern France and began as an artist often rendering the horses and horse- drawn carriages of his surroundings. Although his subject matter diverged over his career, Lautrec was commissioned in 1899 to execute a horse racing series depicting swift agility and equine strength. The series was supposed to be extensive, but because of Lautrec’s alcoholism only four pieces were ever completed. Lautrec’s quest to capture movement and the full experience of the track began with unexpected viewpoints, creating linear compositions with interesting angles as in Le Jockey — Chevaux De Courses. Lautrec’s style contains traces of both the competing avant-garde art circles at the time, uniting conflicting elements of “Gauguin’s naive drawing, firm contours and expanses of flat color” with “Seurat’s pointillism, linear mannerism and controlled color.” Lautrec’s work also draws on Degas as well as the Japanese prints of masters Hokusai, Utamaro, and Hiroshige. These artists became masters because they continually strove to learn from others while simultaneously offering a new way to look at the world. Only a finite number of works by deceased artists remain available to collectors, as many reside in museums. The number of paintings in circulation also decreases over time as a result of damage, loss, and misplacement. It is one of the reasons owning and preserving such a work is one of the great privileges of being a collector.

19th - 20th century master prints and drawings by:

Cassatt Cheret Chagall

Degas Grasset Helleu

EXCLUSIVE COLLECTIONS GALLERIES

Lautrec Manet Miro

Picasso Renoir Steinlen

Tissot Whistler 11