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Georges Rouault, manner of. Oil painting.

Rouault, Georges (Fr. 1871-1958), in the manner of. Two male figures. 2nd quarter of 20th century. Oil (distemper) on board or paper mounted on board. Unsigned. Inscribed ''Galerie/ Simon/ 29 Rue d'Astorg/ Paris VIII'' and ''25 hto'' on back. 8 x 10 in. Two letters are provided that pertain to whether the painting is authentic. The first in French is from the Fondation Georges Rouault of December 18, 2006 written by Jean-Yves Rouault. It states in part that “Les informations que vous nous avez envoyées et les recherches que nous avons effectues dans nos archives indiquent, a ce jour, que l’œuvre mentionnée ci-dessus, n'est pas de Georges Rouault. Il nous est apparu que cette oeuvre avait déjà été déclarée fausse par Madame Isabelle Rouault en 1967.” The second letter was recently discovered by the consignor. This draft, written by her husband in February 26, 1966, states in part that “The painting was a gift to me, along with several other works of art, from Mrs. Paul Morand…of Kingston Manor, Lewes, Sussex in 1949, while we were both residing in Paris…. In 1949 or 1950, I took the Rouault painting to Gimpel Fils in London. They verbally authenticated the painting. When I suggested that the work be taken to M. Rouault for signature, they stated emphatically that to do so would not be prudent, inasmuch as the artist was believed to have destroyed many of his works at that period.”