Color lithograph on wove paper
France, 1895
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) – French Post-Impressionist painter, printmaker, draftsman and illustrator
‘Irish and American Bar, Rue Royale – The Chap Book’
Signed with artist’s elephant monogram in stone lower left
Printed by Chaix, Paris with ink stamp lower left and right
Adriani 189; Delteil 262; Wittrock P18
Framed and matted
Dimensions: 16 ¼ x 23 ¾ in. (41.3 x 60.3 cm.)
Overall dimensions: 25 ½ x 32 ¾ in.
Very good condition

“The Chap Book” was a publication started by Herbert Stone, son of the publisher of the Chicago Daily News, and Ingalls Kimball in the early 1890s. The periodical, popular in intellectual circles, focused on literary criticism, art news and reproductions in the form of posters. The periodical was a success, which allowed Stone and Kimball to commission works from prominent American poster artists such as Hazenplug, Bragdon, Leyendecker, Bird and Bradley. In 1896, Stone and Kimball asked a French affiliate company, La Plume, to commission a poster from the venerable Lautrec as a way of advertising the periodical throughout Europe. Lautrec agreed, and found inspiration in the Irish-American Bar on the Rue Royale in Paris. The bar was a popular spot for British jockeys, their trainers, local coachmen and even Lautrec himself, who were regularly served by a Chinese/American Indian bartender from San Francisco named Ralph. Ralph is visible in this work, serving two fashionable men in top hats.

Executed in 1895, this color lithograph on wove paper is signed with the artist’s elephant monogram. Printed by Chaix, Paris, the work measures 16 ¼ x 23 ¾ inches. Rare, unlined example, in overall good condition with no evidence of tears or repairs.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864-1901)

Born as Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa in France, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec exhibited artistic talent from a young age. His first exhibition was in Toulouse in 1887, and he went on to exhibit in Paris and Brussels with regular participation in the Salon des Indépendants from 1889 to 1894. Influenced by Impressionism and Japanese woodcuts, Toulouse-Lautrec created works depicting the distinctive scenes and figures of the Parisian night life. He soon gained regular commissions for his posters by renowned nightclubs like the Moulin Rouge and was extremely prolific, producing over 6,400 works in total in a span of twenty years. With the largest collection held by the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum, his works have been collected worldwide by institutions including the J. Paul Getty Museum, Hermitage Museum, Kunstmuseum Basel, and Neue Pinakothek.