André Auclair, Flowers (circa 1925)

ANDRÉ AUCLAIR (Paris 1893 - Saint-Thomé 1976) Flowers. Circa 1925. Oil on canvas. 60 X 73 cm (canvas) 66 X 79 cm (frame) Signed bottom right: Auclair. Inscribed on the back: the artist's name, the title of the work, and the artist's address: AUCLAIR ANDRE / FLOWERS / 38 Blvd Raspail. André Auclair, born in Paris in 1893, studied at the School of Decorative Arts and the School of Fine Arts. Like many great artists, he followed a dual path as a painter and as a designer for the decorative arts. Auclair was a painter, sculptor, ceramist, engraver, tapestry designer (his father had been a weaver at Gobelins), and stained glass designer. In the 1920s and 1930s, he was a member of the Society of Independent Artists, and he regularly exhibited his paintings and drawings at the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon des Tuileries. He also taught painting at the Montparnasse School. The 1920s and 1930s were the period of his most significant easel paintings. It is believed that the staging of this still life is the view overlooking the street from the window of his apartment at the time - 38 Boulevard Raspail. Superlatives cannot do justice to this incredible painting.