Keywords: French School, Woman Reading, Charcoal Drawing, Portrait, Profile Portrait, Figurative Art, Academic Style, Works On Paper, Framed Artwork, 19th Century Style, Classical Portrait

Authentometer™: A9*

Summary:
Alfred Pierre Joseph Agache The work itself and the monogram strongly suggest this attribution. Exceptional Monogram Signed Renaissance Revival charcoal painting depicting classically attired woman reading, in profile with her hand raised near an open book, rendered in soft tonal shading.

Agache exhibited his work frequently in Paris. He was a member of the Société des Artistes Français, and won a third-class medal in 1885 for his work. He may have been friends with American painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler and French writer Auguste Angellier; the latter dedicated a book to him around 1893. A portrait of his wife was painted by Aimé Morot

At the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle he was decorated by a silver medal, and then a gold medal during the subsequent 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition, where two of his pieces, "Vanity" and "The Annunciation", were exhibited.

By decree in 10 August 1899 (declaration: 24 August 1899), he was awarded a knighthood in France's Legion of Honour, which was upgraded to the rank of officer by decree on 16 May 1910 (declaration: 25 June 1910).

Measurement: Visible: 19 3/4 x 16 3/4 in. (50.2 x 42.5 cm.), Frame: 36 1/4 x 32 1/4 in. (92.1 x 81.9 cm.) approx

*AUTHENTOMETER™: The Authentometer™ is Collective Hudson’s 1–10 rating of our assessment of the available attribution and authenticity information for a work, with higher ratings indicating a greater degree of confidence. The rating may be applied to artworks where the price realized exceeds $5,000. Works rated A9 or A10 reflect our highest level of confidence in the stated attribution. An A8, A9 or A10 rated work may be returned for a refund within 30 days of the auction date if a recognized expert on the artist clearly states in writing that the work is not an authentic work by the artist described.

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