'Desert Flower' by Pierre Roy (circa 1930s)

'Desert Flower', gouache on coloured paper, by Pierre Roy (circa 1930s). The artist has skilfully captured the beautiful white flowers extending from the main cactus body. Cactus flowers can be yellow, red, pink, white, orange, or blue. Some bloom for only a day, while others last for weeks. Many of these flowers are nocturnal. The treatment of light on the petals is masterful and draws the immediate attention of the viewer. A stunning work of art in good vintage condition by an artist of world renown. It is in a characterful vintage frame showing nicks, scrapes, blemishes and signs of age but wonderfully complements the painting. The frame has been reglazed with museum-quality glass which is UV protected, is anti-glare and with a new back to protect the work for decades to come. Signed by the artist at the bottom right centre. Please see the many images included with this listing. Upon request a video of the work may be provided. 

About the Artist: Pierre Roy (1880–1950) was a French surrealist painter. He is known for his realistically painted compositions of ordinary objects in unexpected arrangements. Pierre was the eldest of four children of the secretary of the management board of the Musée d'Arts de Nantes who all became amateur painters. He left his architectural studies as a young man and enrolled in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. 

In 1905, he decided to devote himself to painting. He exhibited in 1907, 1908, 1913 and 1914 at the Société des Artistes Indépendants. In 1925, he took part in the first exhibition by surrealist painters alongside Giorgio De Chirico, Max Ernst and Pablo Picasso, and in 1926 had his first solo exhibition. In 1933 he was appointed for five years as a naval artist. An exhibition devoted to his work was held at the Galerie des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1935, and his work was displayed at the 1937 World's Fair and the Montaigne Gallery in Paris in 1938. 

His work is classed as surrealism, and is based on assemblages of everyday objects such as shells, vegetables and fruits, woollen reels, ears and seeds, eggs and ribbons arranged to create poetic images. His artworks are currently held in many public institutions, among others, in the New York Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Tate Modern in London and the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris. 

Dimensions with frame:

H 63 cm / 24.8"

W 44.5 cm / 17.5"

Dimensions without frame:

H 44.5 cm / 17.5"

H 30.5 cm / 12"