May 09, 2024 - Sale 2668

Sale 2668 - Lot 56

Price Realized: $ 2,000
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000

ELLÈS (LOUIS SCHIFFER, DATES UNKNOWN)

[MAN JUMPING ON TENNIS RACkET]. Gouache maquette. 1927.


22¾x14¾ inches, 57¾x37½ cm.
Condition A-: slight foxing and minor creases in image; pencil, ink and gouache on paper. With ink stamp on verso, hand-numbered "125" and dated "26/12/27."

At the end of the 1970s, a number of unrealized advertising projects surfaced into the market. They were all signed "Ellès" (When spoken aloud, "L.S." - the artist's initials). The piece is stamped on the back with "Propriété des Affiches ELLÈS 131 Rue St. Denis," an address in a neighborhood where many lithographers and printers opened shop towards the end of the 19th century. The images were reminiscent of works done by Leonetto Cappiello or Jean d'Ylen, but Louis Schiffer remained an enigma. Another original maquette, for an automobile oil company, came up for auction at Swann in 2018 (See sale 2476, Lot 92). Le Tennis A l'Affiche np.