Henry Ottmann (1877-1927) The Toilet. Oil On Canvas Signed 73 X 60.5 Cm

HenryOttmann was a French post-impressionist artist born in Ancenis. He was a studentat the Académie Julian in Paris. He began his career in Belgium, where he exhibitedin 1903 at La Libre Esthétique, before moving to Paris, where heParis, where he took part in prestigious salons such as the Salon desIndépendants (1905) and the Salon d'Automne, at the Salon de la Société nationale des beaux-artsbeaux-arts and the Salon des Tuileries. He enjoyed great success there in the1920s. He is known for his still lifes, nudes and modern scenestranslucent tones and ambitious compositions. He exhibited atDurand-Ruel and Marcel Bernheim galleries. Ottmann died tragically in 1927following a car accident. His death was followed by aretrospective exhibition at the Galerie George Petit in 1928. His work is present incollections of the Musée National d'Art Moderne Georges Pompidou, the Musée d'Orsayd'Orsay, and the Rouen and Nantes Fine Arts Museums.This work comes from the collection of Ardeshir Zahedi 1928-2021, who lived in Montreuxin Montreux since his exile from Iran in 1979. Foreign Minister of Iranand Iran's ambassador to Great Britain and the United States, he becameson-in-law of the Shah of Iran, marrying Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi, the Shah's onlyonly daughter of the Shah. He was a key advisor to the Shah of Iran, whose death in exile indeath in exile in 1980.He lived at the Villa des Roses in Montreux, a popular meeting placemeetings and visits from all the world's leaders: King Fouad, AgaKhan, Richard Nixon...Zahediwas also close to eight successive American presidents. If he will be remembered asthe man who made possible a long, solid honeymoon between Iran and theUnited States, his name had above all become synonymous with a certain era,when diplomacy, business and Hollywood glitz rubbed shoulders without anycomplex. Finding no fault with those who called him a "playboy ambassadorplayboy ambassador", he organized receptions in the Iranian embassy in Washingtonthat made him a legend.Flamboyant,irresistible, extravagant... Having an affair with Liz Taylor (they cameon the verge of marriage, according to one of the actress's biographers), he welcomedthe embassy's luxurious premises with regular guests such as JacquelineKennedy Onassis, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, Henry Kissinger, Andy Warholand Frank Sinatra.