Albert Coste (1895-1985), Blue Abstraction, Gouache Signed On The Right, Framed.

Albert Coste was first introduced to music by his musician mother. In 1909, he simultaneously attended the Marseille School of Fine Arts and the music conservatory. A tram accident in 1916 resulted in the amputation of the index and middle fingers of his left hand. He was permanently discharged from military service, and his career as a cellist was compromised. From then on, he devoted himself primarily to painting and continued his studies in Paris at Cormon's studio. Beginning in 1920, he participated in numerous group exhibitions and Salons in Paris and Aix-en-Provence, where he met Maurice Denis and frequented his studio. He collaborated with Gleizes on the frescoes for the chapel in Thonon. In 1922, he settled near Aix-en-Provence while continuing to participate in major group exhibitions in Paris (Indépendants, Réalités Nouvelles, Salon d'Automne, etc.). In 1933, in Aix-en-Provence, the artist held his first solo exhibition, presented by Maurice Denis. In 1935, he was appointed professor at the École des Beaux-Arts in Aix-en-Provence. In 1941/1942, he met Albert Gleizes in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and remained deeply close to him until his death. Gleizes notably presented the exhibition of his works in Aix in 1942. From 1953 to 1956, he organized exhibitions to promote the work of Gleizes and his followers. He created numerous decorations for public buildings, particularly the Faculty of Law in Aix-en-Provence, designed by architect Fernand Pouillon. Albert Coste participated in a group exhibition with Gleizes, Delaunay, Villon, Herbin, and Léger, and in 1967 with Calder, Masson, and Messagier. Initially painting still lifes and various subjects in a style close to Gauguin and the Nabis, he later embraced abstraction, creating compositions very similar to Gleizes, reflecting the general spirit of post-war French abstraction, alongside artists like Bissière, Manessier, and Lapicque. His works are now held at the Albert Gleizes Foundation in Paris, the Longchamp Museum in Marseille, the Réattu Museum in Arles, and the City Museum of Carpentras, ...Gouache on paper, signed, framed.