381 - Henry SAINT-CLAIR (1899–1990)

Henry SAINT-CLAIR (1899–1990) View of Montmartre Oil on hardboard Signed lower right Illegible inscriptions on the back 17 x 12.3 cm Framed (Slight tears) Description: Henry Saint-Clair (1899–1990) began his career as a restorer for national museums, including the Louvre, before devoting himself to a luminous and playful style of painting, which he practiced from the 1920s through the 1970s. An admirer of Raoul Dufy’s color palette and the teachings of Eugène Boudin, he shared a studio in Honfleur with André Hambourg, Fernand Herbo, and Jacques Bouyssou. While the Normandy beaches of Deauville and Trouville remained his favorite subject, he also maintained a studio in Paris, where he produced numerous urban views. This view of Montmartre, painted on Isorel—a rigid surface similar to the cardboard he favored—follows in the long tradition of the painters of the Butte, from Maurice Utrillo to his contemporaries. Unconcerned with exhibiting his work during his lifetime, Saint-Clair was not discovered by the public until after his death.