May 25, 2017 - Sale 2449

Sale 2449 - Lot 75

Price Realized: $ 1,250
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,000
GEORGES KUGELMANN BENDA (DATES UNKNOWN) MLLE NAPIERKOWSKA. 1914.
62x46 1/2 inches, 157 1/2x118 cm. Pathé Frères Editeurs, [Paris.]
Condition A / A-: creases and minor loss in margins; minor restoration and creases along unobtrusive vertical and horizontal folds.
Although he designed a few posters, Benda was primarily a painter. His most well-known image was for Mistinguett, who happened to be a friend of Stacia Napierkowska, a dancer and an actress who was active during the silent-movie era. "L'Étoile du Génie" was a film about a a failing composer who turned to a struggling dancer for his muse. Using a simple color palette, Benda catches the dancer in a graceful moment.