La Belle Époque on Paper
Freeman’s May 11 La Belle Époque on Paper auction brings collectors fresh-to-market works that highlight the effervescence at play in Paris at the turn of the twentieth century. The single-owner sale showcases the distinguished collecting activities of a private New York family, and includes sixteen works by luminaries of the School of Paris, from Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall to Raoul Dufy and Joan Miró. The sale comprises almost entirely works on paper, including a series of charcoal and pencil drawings by Camille Pissarro, Chagall’s encre de Chine and gouache portrait Maternité, and Picasso’s pencil drawing Homme à la Flûte et Enfant. The collection’s highlight, however, is the richly colored Devant la Fenêtre à Sils, a large gouache executed by Chagall in 1961—a scene of a lover’s embrace bursting with enthusiasm and warmth evocative of the time Chagall spent in the South of France earlier in his career. The collection as a whole speaks to the family’s love for and affinity with French culture and strong ties with Paris, where they resided half the year.
