3025 - Knight Avel de

Knight Avel de 1923 New York 1995 Young Man Reclining. 1950 Oil on canvas Signed and dated upper left: de Knight 50. Titled on label on the reverse Framed 50 × 72 cm Fletcher Copenhaver Fine Art, Fredericksburg, Virginia (label on the reverse); Henry Miller Fine Art, London (label on the reverse); private collection, Switzerland After World War II, his artistic training took the American painter Avel de Knight to Paris, where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, and the Académie Julian. Prior to that, he had served in the U.S. Army during the war. In Paris, he further developed his figurative painting and engaged intensively with European art. His body of work also includes numerous depictions of male nudes and homoerotic drawings, which were created particularly during his years in Paris. After returning to the United States in 1956, he worked as an art critic and lecturer in addition to his artistic practice. This painting depicts a young man in a relaxed, semi-reclining pose. The subdued color palette, the soft modeling of the body, and the pensive facial expression lend the depiction a calm, intimate atmosphere. With a superficial scratch in the center left. Auction date: November 28, 2026 Approximate auction time: 1:54 p.m. CET