Oil Portrait On Canvas Of Pierre Clerc

An oil on canvas by Pierre Clerc, depicting a bust portrait of a young girl in the post-war style. The painter was born in Nîmes in 1919. He studied at the École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs and then at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He was a key figure in the New School of Paris, alongside Soulages, Fautrier, César, Atlan, and Poliakoff, and was particularly close to the latter. With them, he exhibited at the Galerie Legendre, the renowned gallery on rue Guénegaud, from 1957 onwards, and later at the Salons Réalités Nouvelles and Comparaisons, which he co-organized. He traveled extensively around the world, including Japan in 1958. His work is featured in the collections of prestigious museums, including the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Guggenheim, and the Kunsthalle. He exhibited worldwide in the 1970s and was involved in a car accident on his return to Paris in 1984. Two years after his death, the Grand Palais organized a retrospective tribute. The painters of the School of Paris are known for their exploration of textures and colors. This work, even though it is an early piece, demonstrates this exploration through its sandy appearance and its textured, rough surface, which imbue the work with a great deal of life. Our canvas is signed in the lower left corner and has undergone only minor cleaning.