At the age of nine Guy Cambier lost the use of his legs in an accident. He taught himself painting by studying artists he admired, including Watteau and Corot. He moved to Normandy and after 1950 settled in the countryside of Grasse. From 1942 onwards he exhibited in Belgium, then in towns along the Côte d'Azur, the USA and the Salon des Témoins de leur Temps in Paris on the subject of Love amongst others. He was awarded various regional distinctions and notably, in 1957, the Prix de la Jeune Peinture in Paris.
He favoured a scrupulously descriptive technique, painting subjects inspired by the pleasure of living, with a predilection for young women bedecked with garlands. His meticulous manner lent itself to portraits including those of Princess Grace of Monaco, Winston Churchill, Ingrid Bergman, Gérard Philipe and Edward G. Robinson.
Auction Records
Brussels, 24 June 1981: Maternity (oil on canvas, 45¼ × 28¼ ins/115 × 72 cm) BEF 90,000
Brussels, 27 Oct 1982: Village Scene (oil on canvas, 25½ × 31½ ins/65 × 80 cm) BEF 24,000
Brussels, 20 June 1984: House and Figures in Snow-covered Landscape (oil on canvas, 28¼ × 39 ins/72 × 99 cm) BEF 50,000
Antwerp, 22 Oct 1985: Summer Day (oil on canvas, 35 × 46 ins/89 × 116 cm) BEF 65,000
Paris, 7 March 1986: Wandering Players in front of the Farm (oil on canvas, 26½ × 35½ ins/67.5 × 90 cm) FRF 7,500
Paris, 21 March 1990: Woman and Child (oil on canvas, 23½ × 14¼ ins/60 × 36.5 cm) FRF 11,000
Calais, 8 July 1990: Snowy Landscape (oil on canvas) FRF 21,000
New York, 30 June 1993: Head of a Woman (1954, oil on canvas, 16 × 13 ins/40.6 × 33 cm) USD 1,150
New York, 29 Sept 1993: Mother and Child (oil on canvas, 22 × 18¼ ins/55.9 × 46.4 cm) USD 2,070
Lokeren, 9 Oct 1993: Gleaners (1945, oil on canvas, 23½ × 29½ ins/60 × 75 cm) BEF 80,000
Lokeren, 4 Dec 1993: Landscape (oil on panel, 11½ × 31½ ins/29.5 × 80 cm) BEF 26,000
London, 23-24 March 1994: Flowers in a Blue Jug (oil on panel, 30 × 22½ ins/76.5 × 57 cm) GBP 3,565
Bibliography
Le Livre d'image de Guy Cambier, Poseidon, Knokke-Zoute, 1983.
