- 4
Guy Pène Du Bois 1884 - 1958
Description
- Guy Pène du Bois
- Longchamps Race Track
- signed Guy Pène du Bois and dated '26, l.l.
- oil on panel
- 21 3/4 by 17 3/4 in.
- (55.2 by 45.1 cm)
Provenance
James Graham & Sons, New York
Sale: Christie's, New York, April 24, 1981, lot 204, illustrated in color
Berry-Hill Galleries, New York (acquired at the above sale)
Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1981
Exhibited
New York, Graham Gallery, Guy Pène Du Bois 1884-1958: Paintings of Twenty Younger Years 1913-1933, November-December, 1963, no. 26
Catalogue Note
Guy Pène du Bois has long been recognized as a stylish painter of the early 20th century whose work skillfully conveyed the social theatre and sophisticated spirit of the era. A dutiful student of Robert Henri, he painted in the realist tradition established by The Eight, often focusing on men and women in urban surroundings. He concentrated on the subtle interactions between the sexes, as well as between members of different social classes, using a reductive palette and restrained brushwork to suggest the complicated and occasionally humorous nature of these exchanges. Du Bois' sharp observations of contemporary life extended to outdoor amusements as well, where he placed his subjects in the midst of circuses, wrestling matches, and in the case of Longchamps Race Track, the world of horse racing.
The present work was painted in 1926 during du Bois' six year long sojourn in France, where he lived with his family in a small village called Garnes about thirty miles from Paris. Seeking to immerse himself in both Parisian life and the expatriate community of writers and painters who had relocated to France, du Bois' work continued to focus on depictions of café society, with occasional representations of life outside of the urban center. Longchamps Race Track depicts three bystanders engaged in conversation at the track's rail, while a fourth figure, likely a French military officer, studies the course just in front of them. In this scene, the backdrop of the race track and the landscape beyond it has been reduced to the simplest shapes and colors, rendering it recognizable but not distracting from the main subject. The setting is not without its implications, however, as it clearly identifies a social milieu usually populated by privileged Parisians. Du Bois' figures here are thus meant to represent the upper bourgeoisie, stylish mannequins with no obvious distinguishing characteristics. While the painting successfully conveys an overall feeling of fashionable elegance, it is not without social commentary. The woman, placed at the center of the image and the only figure whose face is seen fully, is not only attending a male-oriented sporting event but is dressed similarly to her male companions. Though the viewer can't be exactly sure of du Bois' intentions in depicting her this way, it would seem an acknowledgement of the changing role of women in society.
Du Bois returned to the subject of racing in 1937 when he was chosen to paint a mural for the Saratoga Post office, funded by the Works Project Administration. The completed Saratoga in the Racing Season was lauded by the public and critics alike. In the words of Homer Saint Gaudens: "The visual possibilities of elegantly costumed racing fans combined with equally well-groomed and expensive horses permitted Guy to explore the kind of upper-class social interaction that so fascinated him."