Fine Set of Three Prints by Louis Icart

A fine set of three Art Deco prints by the artist Louis Icart 1888-1950. A really unusual group of three limited edition prints by the great Art Deco artist Louis Icart. The three pieces are archetypal for the artist with ladies depicted in a coquettish manner, romantic and humorous, coloured in limited tones of black and sepia. The works have known titles, The Black Shawl, The Goldfish Bowl and The Spilled Jug of Milk. The three are all signed by the artist and numbered. The prints were produced in 1925 by Graveurs Modernes, Paris. The three are in good untouched condition with some minor foxing and discolouration. The prints all retain their original Art Nouveau design frames, gilt and coloured to match the mounts of the prints. The frames are exceptionally unusual and it is remarkable they are still with the prints. Louis Icart 188-1950 was a French artist and master of the Art Deco movement. Born in Toulouse, France, he began drawing at an early age and had a strong interest in fashion. He worked for major design studios at a time when fashion was undergoing a radical change, and his sketches reflected this transformation. However, it was not until his move to Paris in 1907 that Icart began to concentrate on painting, drawing, and the production of countless beautiful etchings. In Paris, he found his niche in the Art Deco movement, which had taken its grip on the city in the 1920s. Icart’s etchings reached their height of brilliance in this era, and he has become a symbol of the epoch. He worked in his own style, derived principally from the study of eighteenth-century French masters such as Jean Antoine Watteau, François Boucher, and Jean Honoré Fragonard. His portrayal of women is usually sensuous, sometimes erotic, yet always imbued with an element of humour, which is as important as the implied or direct sexuality. Icart’s etchings and paintings are a celebration of life and beauty, capturing the spirit of the age in which he lived. Icart’s prints are highly sought after by collectors, and his work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, including the Louvre in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. These three are as good examples of Icart’s work as you will see and stunning examples of Art Deco period design. Overall sizes in inches of the largest, including frame: 17 ¾ by 23 ½