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Lot Essay
Le Pho settled in France in 1937, after having first visited Paris in the early 1930s upon graduating top in his class from the Indochina Fine Arts School in Hanoi. He exhibited at the Colonial Exhibition (1931) and the Universal Exhibition (1937), both in Paris.
Considering Le Pho's Ieuvre, we can identify three distinct stylistic periods. The Findlay period - his last stylistic phase - dates from 1963 to his death in 2001, and is thus named because of his representing gallery, Wally Findlay Galleries, from USA. In 1963, Le Pho was approached by the famous American gallerist Wally Findlay, after being noticed for his exhibitions at the Romanet Gallery following the period after the Second World War. The gallery would come to have a great influence on Le Pho's work. The Findlay period marked Le Pho's shift towards producing works on oil and canvas, but continuing to paint his distinctively stylized Vietnamese women within verdant landscapes.
The collaboration with Wally Findlay bore fruit and Le Pho employed bright colours attesting to his long-lasting admiration for Matisse. This change also showed through the use of strong brushstrokes on large oil paintings such as Mother and Child with Two Ladies in the Garden (Lot 626) and Deux filles dans le jardin (Two Girls in the Flower Garden) (Lot 627) where this new strong colour palette was prominent. Le Pho seem injected with fresh energy in the Findlay period, and he demonstrated this by painting prolifically his favourite themes, such as Le Recital Au Jardin (The Recital in the Garden) (Lot 628) and his iconic flower bouquets such as Floral Still Life (Lot 629). These works were often composed within idealized landscapes, where Le Pho articulated the ideals of beauty and love. In turn, Wally Findlay promoted his works passionately, and allowed his works to be collected by some of the most established collectors in the American market, which was a source of great delight for Le Pho.
Considering Le Pho's Ieuvre, we can identify three distinct stylistic periods. The Findlay period - his last stylistic phase - dates from 1963 to his death in 2001, and is thus named because of his representing gallery, Wally Findlay Galleries, from USA. In 1963, Le Pho was approached by the famous American gallerist Wally Findlay, after being noticed for his exhibitions at the Romanet Gallery following the period after the Second World War. The gallery would come to have a great influence on Le Pho's work. The Findlay period marked Le Pho's shift towards producing works on oil and canvas, but continuing to paint his distinctively stylized Vietnamese women within verdant landscapes.
The collaboration with Wally Findlay bore fruit and Le Pho employed bright colours attesting to his long-lasting admiration for Matisse. This change also showed through the use of strong brushstrokes on large oil paintings such as Mother and Child with Two Ladies in the Garden (Lot 626) and Deux filles dans le jardin (Two Girls in the Flower Garden) (Lot 627) where this new strong colour palette was prominent. Le Pho seem injected with fresh energy in the Findlay period, and he demonstrated this by painting prolifically his favourite themes, such as Le Recital Au Jardin (The Recital in the Garden) (Lot 628) and his iconic flower bouquets such as Floral Still Life (Lot 629). These works were often composed within idealized landscapes, where Le Pho articulated the ideals of beauty and love. In turn, Wally Findlay promoted his works passionately, and allowed his works to be collected by some of the most established collectors in the American market, which was a source of great delight for Le Pho.