Skippings Fine Arts has dated this piece to the 1960s.
With her fellow students she spent many evenings in the company of Jacques Hélion, Kisling or Foujita, whom they used to meet in the cafés of Montparnasse.
She married Jean Valtat, the son of the Fauve artist Louis Valtat, but although her father-in-law encouraged her to paint, Marie-Lucie Valtat hardly found time, as she had to assist her husband, now Doctor Jean Valtat, as well as raise their children. Marie Lucie's kindliness was not rewarded: her husband left her for his mistress and abandoned her and the kids.
Obliged to earn a living, Marie-Lucie Nessi started to produce ceramics, hoping to turn her artistic talents to profit.
From 1958, thanks to the assistance of her mother-in-law Suzanne, who remained firmly attached to her, Nessi abandoned ceramics and at last devoted herself entirely to painting. All that's well ends well:
Wally Findlay International Galleries in the US signed an exclusive contract with her in 1972, which brought her not only a certain financial security, but also the satisfaction of seeing her work appreciated by an international public.
Our work by Marie Lucie dates from 1963. It is signed at the lower right and titled "Av Mac Mahon" on the verso. The Avenue Mac-Mahon is in the 17th Arrondissement of Paris, leading up the the Place de l'Etoile . Measuring 46 x 38 cm, the overall framed size is 53 x 62 cm (some wear to frame)
Skippings Fine Arts has dated this piece to the 1960s.
Modern french & continental pictures selected by a former french auction house expert
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Outside the Restaurant on a Summer Evening, Paris 1963, Woman Artist Marie Lucie Valtat Oil on Canvas
