Footnotes

• EXHIBITED:
  Paris, Le Salon des Peintres du Spectacle, 1995
  Bruxelles, Musee d'Ixelles, 1991
  Baden-Baden, Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, 1989, no 98
  
  'Le Bel Indifferent' had been written by Cocteau for Edith Piaf (1915-1963). Opening in the spring of 1940, the one act play was received with critical acclaim, and contributed to Piaf's success as one of France's most popular entertainers of the 1940s. Her father, a street performer, had encouraged his daughter to sing from the age of 14, and by the mid-1930s she was working in the nightclubs of Paris. Of diminutive stature, she became known as Piaf, a colloquialism for sparrow, and this, along with her distinctive black attire gave her a lasting stage image. After the War Piaf toured internationally, helping launch the careers of both Yves Montard and Charles Aznavour. Her songs, notably La vie en rose and Non, je ne regrette rien have led to her being regarded as France's greatest popular singer.

Saleroom notices

• Please note that the work should be catalogued as 20th Century School and not as stated in the catalogue. It has been suggested that the work is possibly by Christian Berard. We would like to thank Annie Guedras for her assistance in advising on this lot.