Gustave Singier

Galerie de France, Paris 
Collection Villier, Paris 
Vente: Sotheby's, Londres, Contemporary Art, 29 juin 1995, lot 118
Collection particulière, Suisse 
Vente: Christie's, Londres, Post-War and Contemporary Art, 22 octobre 2003, lot 18
Acquis lors de cette vente par le propriétaire actuel

Turin, Palazzo Belle Arti, Pittori d'oggi, Francia-Italia, octobre 1951; catalogue, illustré 
Paris, Galerie de France, Singier, mars - avril 1952; catalogue, no. 1
Gravenhage, Dienst Voor Schone Kunsten, Tijdgenoten vit Parijs, juin 1953; catalogue, no. 78 
São Paulo, Contemporary Art Museum, 11^e Biennale, 1953-1954; catalogue, no. 87
Hannover, Kestner-Gesellschaft, G.Singier, juin - juillet 1956; catalogue, no. 30, p. 20, illustré
Kassel, Documenta II, juin - septembre 1959; catalogue, no. 12 
Helsinki, ARS, 1961
Rennes, Musée des Beaux-Arts; Caen, Musée des Beaux-Arts, G. Singier, mars - mai 1973; catalogue, no. 7
Paris, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, mars - mai 1982; catalogue, no. 11

Jean Bouret, Arts, Singier, Paris, 28 mars 1952
Georges Charbonnier, Le Musée de Poche, Gustave Singier, 1957, p. 29, illustré 

The colours are fairly accurate in the catalogue illustration although the overall tonality is more contrasted in the original work. The work is executed on its original canvas and is not relined. The surface presents some networks of hairline cracks and two tiny paint losses along the right edge, some of which have been carefully restored, especially along the right and left edges, and fluoresce under Ultra Violet light inspection.
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Trois artistes emblématiques de la scène parisienne des années 1950. Trois œuvres majeures de la mouvance de la « non figuration ». Dans l’immédiat après-guerre, Gustave Singier, Alfred Manessier et Jean Le Moal furent des figures de proue de la Galerie de France, cette fameuse galerie parisienne qui fut, pendant des années, le centre névralgique de la vie artistique parisienne. « Grands prix internationaux pour ses artistes, expositions muséales tous azimuts (le Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris était devenu une véritable succursale de la galerie), listes d'attente pour les collectionneurs… » (Jean-Robert Arnaud in Cimaise, 1990) Chaque exposition était un passage obligé pour quiconque s’intéressait à l’art de son temps.

Three emblematic artists of the 1950s Parisian art scene. Three major works from the “non figuration” movement. Immediately after the Second World War, Gustave Singier, Alfred Manessier and Jean Le Moal were figureheads of the Galerie de France, the famous French gallery that was the nerve centre of Parisian artistic life. “Great international prizes for its artists, museum exhibitions all over the place (the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris had become a veritable branch of the gallery), waiting lists for collectors…” (Jean-Robert Arnaud in Cimaise, 1990). Each exhibition was a prerequisite for anyone interested in the art of that time.