'Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche' by Fred Pailhès (c. 1950s)
French artist Fred Pailhès, (1907-1991) born in Le Havre, is primarily known for his paintings of ports and seascapes including Marseille and Nice in the south of France and Le Havre and Honfleur in the north. He is also known for his striking portraits of bohemians, vagabonds and everyday people, capturing humorous and sometimes strange expressions of people in the street. He loved sailor bars, music halls, lost souls - women and their eroticism, whatever he saw as long as he found mouvement and colour. Saucy scenes of cabarets and bistros and, of course, women are depicted in his art. There are innumerable drawings of women and dancers - in particular, Loulou, Pailhès' favourite from the Folies Bergères cabaret in Paris.
In 'Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche' (c. 1950s) crayon (wax pastel) on paper, Pailhès sketches these favourite subjects - a man wobbling down the narrowest Parisian street passing an older woman, dressed in pink ambling in the other direction, neither of them looking the best for wear. The 'Hotel Confort' sign lingers overhead attracting a certain type of clientele.
Pailhès' work has been exhibited at the Musée Montparnasse and at the Chateaux Borély in Marseille. Pailhes died in 1991. Since 1986 Pailhès' works have been auctioned over 700 times. This piece of history is for you. In excellent vintage condition. Beautifully framed.
Signed in lower left hand corner in artist's hand: <<Rue du chat qui peche. Paris F Pailhès>>
Dimensions with frame:
H 53.5 cm
W 44 cm
Dimensions without frame:
H 36 cm
W 25 cm