Francis Picabia - Portrait - Certificate Of Authenticity

A superb portrait of a woman by Francis Picabia (1879-1953), created around 1940, which bears a striking resemblance to Josephine Baker.

Picabia based the pose on a photograph by Pierre Verger, exhibited at the "Andalucia" exhibition in São Paulo in 1935 and reprinted in the January 1936 issue of "Mon Paris" magazine (see the last image, which shows this illustration along with three portraits of Josephine Baker for comparison).

However, there are notable differences between this photograph and our drawing: the hair clip is absent, the flower is different, the forehead is higher, the gaze is elongated, and the smile is narrower.

Picabia attended Josephine Baker's first performance in Paris and also created pencil portraits of celebrities such as Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard, and Greta Garbo; it would therefore be perfectly logical that he would have drawn a portrait of Josephine Baker based on this photograph.

The drawing was authenticated by the Picabia Committee on March 19, 2018, and has been included in the catalogue raisonné of Francis Picabia's work.
The certificate of authenticity (see photos) will be provided to the buyer.

*** This drawing was presented by the prestigious New York gallery FINDLAY GALLERIES at the "Master Drawings New York" fair from January 26 to February 2, 2019 (titled "Portrait of Josephine Baker").

*** This drawing was auctioned on June 27, 2025 (Nouvelle Etude auction house, Paris), estimated at €20,000–€25,000 (plus buyer's premium of approximately 30%), authenticated by the expert Mr Chanoit, and titled "Portrait of Josephine Baker" (see photo).

In 2022, a painting by Francis Picabia sold for €10 million at auction (a record), and his value continues to rise; his drawings regularly exceed €50,000 !

Pencil and stump drawing on paper

27 x 18.5 cm (with high-quality DELF frame and protective glass, approximately 52 x 43 cm).

Very good overall condition, with a tiny scratch on the right edge of the paper and a small discolored area in the upper left corner, which has been touched up by my conservator to ensure a uniform paper color.
These two barely visible imperfections are located outside the intact drawing area.

Signed "Francis PICABIA" at the bottom center.

Photos taken in natural light

AUTHENTICITY GUARANTEED - Sale with invoice from our gallery + certificate of authenticity

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