Paul César Helleu

La femme aux fleurs (Portrait de Mathilde See)

Circa 1910

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...

This intimate work by Camille Pissarro represents a period of significance for the Impressionist master. The early 1880s was a time of great experimentation for the artist, after he spent much of the preceding decade devoted to landscape painting. Shifting focus, he embarked on a series of works in a range of media dedicated to the human figure - particularly peasant women. In watercolor, gouache, pastel, and print, Pissarro captured the rural female and the minute moments of domestic life. Depicting a peasant woman tying her scarf, Paysanne Nouant son Foulard displays the harmony of color and composition that typifies his work of the 1880s. Composed of a symphony of color and strokes of paint, the work exemplifies the plein air technique of Pissarro's best Impressionist canvases. A true master of his art, no other artist successfully chronicled rural peasant life quite like Pissarro. Counted among the most respected artists of the 19th century and widely considered the father of Impressionism, Pissarro’s works experienced a surge in interest in the early 2000s. This is reflected in Pissarro’s new auction record of over $32.1 million, set at a 2014 Sotheby’s auction in London, which far surpassed his previous record of $14.6 million. Born in St. Thomas in the Danish West Indies, Pissarro was sent to school in Paris at the age of 11, where he first displayed a talent for drawing. In 1855, having convinced his parents of his determination to pursue a career as an artist rather than work in the family shipping business, he returned to Paris where he studied at the Académie Suisse alongside Claude Monet. At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Pissarro moved to England. With Monet, he painted a series of landscapes around South-East London and studied English landscape painters in the museums. When he returned home to Louveciennes a year later, Camille discovered that all but 40 of the 1500 paintings he had left there - almost 20 years of work - had been vandalized. In 1872, Camille settled in Pontoise where he remained for the next 10 years, gathering a close circle of friends around him. Gauguin was among the many artists to visit him there and Cézanne, who lived nearby, came for long periods to work and learn. In 1874, Pissarro participated in the first Impressionist exhibition...

Tamara De Lempicka 1898-1980 Polish Portrait d'homme à lunettes (Portrait of a Man Wearing Glasses) Signed “Lempicka” (bottom right) Pencil on paper Th...

Attributed to Frank Weston Benson American 1862-1951 Portrait of a Young Woman Watercolor on paper Signed “F.W. Benson 1912” (lower right) This watercolor painting, entitled Port...

Tsuguharu Foujita 1886-1968 | Japanese-French Portrait of a Mother and Child Signed “Foujita / Paris” (lower left) Ink and watercolor on paper An artistic luminary well ahead of his time, Tsuguharu Foujita burst onto the international art scene in the early 20th century as one of the most important artists in early Japanese modernism...

Diego Rivera 1886-1957 Mexican Niño Signed and dated “Diego Rivera 1935” (lower left) Charcoal and sanguine on rice paper A rebel against the traditional school of painting, Diego Rivera is revered as one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century. Niño, completed by Rivera in 1935, represents a masterwork within an important part of the artist’s output — his portraits of children. It is a touching work paying homage to both childhood innocence and the cultural identity of the Mexican people...

'Portrait of Smiling Woman', pastel and crayon on art paper, by Raymond Debiève (circa 1970s). Is this a modern version of da Vinci's Mona Lisa? The simi...

'The Kids', pastel on paper (1967), by Raymond Dèbieve. Picasso's influence is undeniable in this artwork yet Dèbieve's own naive artistic style is on display ...

'The Red Headdress', pastel on art paper, by W. Worms (circa 1960s). A beautiful woman with contemplative expression and tender eyes is exquisitely portrayed by the artist. The treat...

French School, Portrait of Queen Marie Antoinette of France, Pastel /oil Pastel on Paper, Rococo, 18th Century. The Pastel is made in the style...

Howard Tangye (b.1948, Australia) has been an influential force in fashion for decades. Lecturing at London’s Central Saint Martins for 35 years, including 16 years as head of BA Wom...

Howard Tangye (b.1948, Australia) has been an influential force in fashion for decades. Lecturing at London’s Central Saint Martins for 35 years, including 16 years as head of BA Wom...