Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

(French, 1864 - 1901)

Yvette Guilbert (portfolio of eight lithographs with cover; cover and frontispiece bound together with front matter in binding by René Aussourd)

, 1898

lithographs

12 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches.

Property from the Collection of Janice and Philip Beck, Winnetka, Illinois

Literature:

Adriani (G) 250-258; Delteil 251-260; Adhémar 307-316; Adriani 256-265; Wittrock 271-280

Provenance:

Each sheet and front matter bearing stamp of Henri Marie Petiet (L. 5031)

Binding bearing mark of René Aussourd

Colletti Gallery, Chicago, 2000

Lot notes:

In May of 1898, the internationally famous French singer Yvette Guilbert was to give performances in London. In March, Lautrec began working on a series of lithographs to be published by the London publishers Bliss and Sands to commemorate the occasion. Unfortunately, on May 6, Guilbert informed Lautrec that the engagement was cancelled. The publisher decided to move forward with publishing the portfolio regardless, the final images presented here.

Lautrec produced eight full page drawings as well as a title page for the portfolio. Each of the sheets in the set presented here bears the ownership stamp of Henri Marie Petiet (1894-1980), renowned French print collector and dealer known for his insatiable collecting habits, international connections in the print world and most importantly his keen eye for quality prints.

Yvette Guilbert (portfolio of eight lithographs with cover; cover and frontispiece bound together with front matter in binding by René Aussourd)

Yvette Guilbert (portfolio of eight lithographs with cover; cover and frontispiece bound together with front matter in binding by René Aussourd)