GARD LÉON (1901-1979)

Oil on cardboard, 

Signed lower left,

Countersigned and dated 1966 on the back by the artist,

Inventory number of the artist's studio on the back "93"

Origin : Family of the artist,

Beautiful work by the painter LÉON Gard which represents a view of the Parc des Bonshommes in L'Isle-Adam, more precisely a path leading to a pond in the undergrowth of the park.

The work was produced in 1966, at the Château des Bonshommes, during one of the artist's stays fleeing the bustle of Paris.

Born in Tulle in Corrèze, the Gard family will settle ten years later in Morigny near Etampes and then in Paris.

From the age of 12, LÉON Gard showed his artistic predispositions by making his charcoal portrait.

At 16, he copied old paintings for a play "Little Queen". He receives encouragement from the State and is proposed as a member of the Salon d'Automne the following year.

In 1922, he entered the National School of Fine Arts in Paris, in the studio of the painter ERNEST Laurent, but resenting the theories of his teachers and the atmosphere that reigns in this school, he signed a contract with the art dealer Georges Chéron who exhibited Soutine, Foujita and Van Dongen.  

His friend and patron, LOUIS Metman, director of the Museum of Decorative Arts, then granted him a pension so that he could paint in Toulon. The economic crisis of 1931 forced the painter to find a job in a painting restoration workshop of which he would become the boss. At the same time, he continues to send his works to the Salon de la Nationale and to exhibit in particular at the Galerie Charpentier and Bernheim in Paris.

Thanks to his job, he befriends Sacha Guitry.

In 1946, LÉON Gard founded the art magazine Apollo and then undertook a crusade against non-figurative painting.

In order to leave the hustle and bustle of Paris, the artist went to stay several times at the Château des Bonshommes in the forest of Isle Adam and took pleasure in representing the Parc des Bonshommes according to the whims of the weather and the seasons.

LÉON Gard is a great colorist who strives to represent what he sees with accuracy in compositions where he sometimes expresses his love of precise outline, detail, the weight of things; other times, in a broader way, he surrenders to his love of atmosphere and colorful vibrations; finally, he tries on a few occasions to merge these two almost irreconcilable problems into a single one in the same work.

For further information on the artist, we can refer to the website dedicated to the painter.

Dimensions : 41 x 33 cm without frame, framed in a wooden LOUIS XV style Montparnasse frame. 

A catalog on the painter LÉON Gard (1901-1979) as well as an certificate of the beneficiary will be given to the purchaser