Raymond Guerrier, ‘Grues et Pont’ (Cranes and Bridge), Paris 1953, original oil painting, fully restored, documented provenance.

In magnificent gilded original frame with full documentation, this is a rare French postwar modernist work and not to be missed.

A strikingly handsome oil painting, this wonderful composition of industrial landscape elements is indicative of Guerrier’s growing interest in abstraction at the time. The quay depicted here is a coal haulage on the banks of the Seine at the Viaduc d’Austerlitz rail bridge. In the left background the Notre Dame cathedral and spire are visible.

This sale includes an original exhibition catalogue recently sourced after ten years of searching, in which the painting is listed by title and numbered ‘3’. The back of the frame carries an original lead pencil inscription, ‘Redfern, 3’. It was exhibited in Guerrier’s first British exhibition at the Redfern Gallery, London, in 1953.

Guerrier was the headline exhibitor, alongside Italian modernist artist Gino Severini. The catalogue notes that Redfern was concurrently exhibiting and selling works by Henry Moore, Paul Cezanne and Raul Dufy to name just a few of the better known artists Guerrier was associated with.

The catalogue states that, ‘…Guerrier is recognised today as one of the most important of the younger French painters’, and notes the ‘…poetic austerity and sincerity of his work’.

We also provide the full assessment of condition and list of treatments by our conservator, Helen Gill, who restored the work recently. Helen is an Accredited Professional Member of the Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials (AICCM) and a member of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC). We highly recommend her to our clients.