Au Café -- La Negresse. 1908. Etching and drypoint. Exsteens 271.i/ii. 11 x 5 5/8. Series: Les Bars. From the first state edition of 30 proofs with the remarque sketch at the foot of the image (total edition 95). Light stain from a previous hinge in the top margin, well outside the image; otherwise excellent condition. A rich impression with drypoint burr printed on laid paper watermarked 'Pellet et Legrand', on the full sheet with deckle edges. With the red Pellet stamp, lower right. Ex-collection: Vincent Price. Signed and numbered '36/40' in pencil. $2,000
Louis Legrand was born in Dijon, France on September 29, 1863. He worked as a bank teller, and studied art at the Dijon Ecole des Beaux Arts in his spare time. At the age of twenty, he won the Devosge prize at that school and a year later left for Paris. Legrand arrived in Paris in 1884, where he studied under Felicien Rops and soon became famous for his paintings, drawings and etchings depicting the Parisian beau-monde. A superb draughtsman, his etchings also show great sophistication. Legrand's prints were almost all published by Gustave Pellet, who published many erotic images
Additional drypoints from the series are available on the Allinson Gallery, Inc. website.
