François GALL (1912-1987) Les demoiselles du Pont Neuf en été or Conversation on the Pont Neuf, 1972 Oil on canvas Signed lower right 81 x 100 cm; with frame 103 x 120 cm Exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français 1978. Here, on the Pont Neuf, Gall's first open-air studio opposite his attic on rue Dauphine, is his youngest daughter Elizabeth-Anne with her childhood friend. The summer light was intense, and under Catherine's straw hat and graceful gesture, she prepared for the usual stroll to the artist's bookshop friends, in search of old prints and books. This work has been recorded in the Gall family archives for the catalog raisonné currently in preparation. François Gall (1912-1987) After the dark, social subjects of the war years, Gàll Ferencz discovered light and freedom in the France he had chosen, a dream of his teenage years spent at the Nagybànya School, the Hungarian Barbizon of Transylvania. After meeting the young Quercy poet Eugénie in 1946, his style and subjects evolved. Impressionist gallery owner Charles Durand-Ruel, whose portrait he painted, exhibited his work from 1949. "...from intimacies to landscapes, Gall extends his visual field with a brio that brings to mind the masters of the early twentieth century. His work is clear and joyful, full of optimism like the man himself. He makes us witness a perpetual feast of color and light". (Jean Bouret, excerpt from the exhibition catalog). A naturalized François Gall, he lovingly painted Parisian life, posing Eugénie, their three children, collectors and friends.