?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000
HENRY THOMAS (1834-1904) L'ECLAIR. 1897. 471/2x331/2 inches. Chaix, Paris. Condition A. Framed. This image won first place in a major poster design competition sponsored by the newspaper. The jury comprised of Alphonse Mucha, Jules Cheret, Eugene Grasset, Adolph Willette, Theofile-Alexandre Steinlen, Albert Guillaume and Jean-Louis Forain, as well as other important painters. To the surprise of many, it was an unknown American painter and lithographer who won (see Swann auction #1945, lot 1). The bold Art Nouveau image of an elegant woman, in her elaborate costume, on plush pillows, reading the newspaper, uses a rising sun motif in the background to imply the imparting of knowledge. The poster was beautifully printed by Chaix, and was selected to be in the Maitres de l'Affiche. It was a triumph for the artist, who was already 63 years old, and also apparently all that he ever wanted, for as far as we can tell, he never designed another poster! Abdy p. 167, Maitres pl. 222, Fit to Print 86.
