?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 4,000 - $ 6,000
D'APRÈS ALPHONSE MUCHA (1860-1939)
SARAH - BERNHARDT. Circa 1914.
82x40 1/2 inches, 208 1/4x102 3/4 cm. Carey Print, New York. Condition B+: expertly-repaired tears, creases and minor overpainting in margins and image. Two-sheets.
Adapted from Mucha's 1898 design for the cover of L'Estampe Moderne, Sarah Bernhardt also used a smaller and less colorful version of this image to promote her first of three American tours starting in 1905 (see Swann Sale 2421 Lot 43). The absence of Mucha's signature suggests that the image was merely inspired by Mucha, but not created by his hand. The visual link here to psychedelic posters from the 1960s is as palpable as any we have ever seen; one can even see Milton Glaser's inspiration for his Bob Dylan poster in the way this unknown artist depicts the outlined flowers behind this maiden's ear. Rare. We have found no other copies at auction.
