369 - Henry SAINT-CLAIR (1899–1990)

Henry SAINT-CLAIR (1899–1990) Woman with an Umbrella, sketch Charcoal on cardboard Saint-Clair studio stamp in the upper left corner 54.5 x 24.5 cm Framed under glass Description: A painter who captured the joy of life and the pleasures of the seaside, Henry Saint-Clair (1899–1990) pursued his career as a painter from the 1920s through the 1970s, a career interrupted by the Occupation. He initially worked as a restorer for national museums, notably the Louvre, an experience that gave him an intimate knowledge of the masters’ paintings. Influenced by Raoul Dufy’s use of color and joy, and mindful of the lessons of Eugène Boudin, he shared a studio in Honfleur with André Hambourg, Fernand Herbo, and Jacques Bouyssou, and made the Normandy beaches of Deauville, Trouville, and Honfleur as the setting for family scenes sketched with tenderness and humor. He also maintained a studio in Paris, where he produced numerous views of the city. A discreet artist who made little effort to exhibit or sell his work during his lifetime, he was not truly discovered by the public until after his death. His drawings, such as this charcoal sketch bearing his studio stamp, reveal the liveliness of the line that structures his painted compositions.