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Etienne Ret (1900-1996) French/American Artist

A Los Angeles Times critic noted of a 1943 exhibit: 
"Ret is a poet and his pictures are poetic paintings."
Etienne Ret (1900-1996), French (lived in California)
"Young Man Playing the Sitar"
Signed UL, watercolor and gouache, image approximately 22” x 17" - matted and framed.  

Ravi Shankar (1920 –  2012)
A prominent Indian musician who was best-known as a sitar musician and a  composer of Hindustani classical music. The photograph: Shankar, the guru of the sitar, 1966, belongs to Getty Images, Obituary was included in national publication.

Etienne Ret (1900-1996) French/American Artist

Born in Bourbonnais France, Etienne (Perret) Ret studied art in Paris at the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs, under Maurice Denis and G. Desvaileres. He first exhibited his original paintings, etchings and lithographs with the Societe des Independants, in Paris, and throughout France.
In 1929 Ret published his own book of poems, Blindman’s Bluff; he won the Florence Blumenthal Prize and did the scenery for the new presentation of La Damnation de Faust at the Paris Opera House. 3.

Ret moved to the United States and initially settled in San Antonio, Texas. There he established his reputation as a leading artist. Ret was also a member of the San Antonio Art League and taught painting and printmaking techniques at the San Antonio Museum. Around 1934 Etienne Ret moved to Los Angeles where he continued to show his art in major national exhibitions, including a major one-man exhibit at the Norton Simon Museum in 1945.  He became a US Citizen in 1940.  1.

Ret’s art centered primarily upon figure studies, particularly those of children and women. Today the paintings, lithographs and etchings of Etienne Ret are included in the permanent collections of the State Museum, France; the Encyclopedia Britannica Collection; Witte Memorial Museum, San Antonio; the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Pasadena Art Institute, San Diego Fine Arts Society and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 2.

  1. Los Angeles Times, Obituary, June 29, 1996
  2. Who’s Who in American Art - 1959
  3. Contemporary American Painting, The Encyclopaedia Britannica Collection, 1945
           Please note that portions of this blog was taken from another author who helped round out all the
           details.
Waller-Yoblonsky Fine Art is a research collaborative, working to track artists that got lost and overlooked due to time, changing styles, race, gender and/or sexual orientation. Our frequent blogs highlight artists and art movements that need renewed attention with improved information for the researcher and art collectors.  These photos were created by Mr. Waller and all materials are used under the Fair Use Section 107, Copyright Act, unless otherwise noted.  #waller-yoblonskyblogspot  #etienneret

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