Duteurtre was a trained artist that was influenced by his father, an architect and a mother a weaver/milliner. He developed artistic skills early and was already receiving recognition for drawing and color by the age 14. His parents’ social status and education would have introduced the young Duteurtre to the great French impressionists such as Renoir, Degas, Morisot and the American Impressionist, Mary Cassatt. Duteurtre's visual narratives are rooted in the first generation of impressionists, but he recast that art movement into a modern idiom, using independent methods of his own. He is known for reinventing those imaginative ideals of the first generation French impressionists.
In his painting: “At the Morning Vanity” from the late 1960s, he creates a well-balanced composition of a mother and young daughter, where the daughter is preparing for the day as the mother looks on (Plate 1). To create the composition he uses vigorous brushwork of short staccato strokes that he layers in a heavy fashion. In the background he uses open hatching brush strokes that are superimposed over one another, the open hatching suggests a sense of blur within the interior composition. He also uses circular rhythms in his brushstrokes that are found predominantly in the window sheers, the young woman’s sleeping gown, and the opulence glass set on the vanity. These brushstrokes frequently follow the form of the objects, such as the folds in the fabric of the sheers, the mother’s blouse and the daughter’s sleeping gown.
Duteurtre had a preference for priming his canvases in a white, richly smooth manner, which is related to the techniques of painting on porcelain. It is most likely he developed this idea from his World War II imprisonment by the Germans where he was assigned work in a porcelain factory. In this borrowed technique he built up his canvases from a smooth white ground with smaller to medium strokes of thick paint - presumably applied with a soft sable brush, he made the strokes more flowing with the addition of linseed oil. A close inspection of the faces and the strawberry blonde hair, shows the buildup of the generous impasto.
In the composition he surrounds the painting with a personal touch, beautiful paint handling, color, action, storytelling, and the mother and daughter unequivocally are there to be observed. The heads of the mother and daughter are completely stated along with the arms and hands. The mother looks on as her daughter combs her hair in the direct center of the painting, anchoring the young woman as the composition's main subject. There is some soft modeling of the skin-tones where he appears to have blended the paint with his fingers. Likewise, Duteurtre fully models the strawberry blonde hair, making it appear that this is the one place in the composition where he is using long painting strokes. Pretty mothers with young daughters come off as unforced tenderness or maybe sentimentality. Yet I once heard the noted Chicago gallery owner, Richard Love say “everyone likes a pretty woman hanging on their wall”.
Wikipedia states that Duteurtre left his life of teaching and illustration in the 1960s and from that point on, he painted for the rest of his life. Archival research shows that by the mid-1960s he was part of the stable of renowned French artists at Wally Findlay Galleries, with operations in Palm Beach and Chicago (fig. 1). Wally Findlay’s tagline: Specialists in French Paintings; Impressionists, Post Impressionists, Fauves. That is how Duteurtre should be categorized as a Post Impressionist. As a Post Impressionist, he retained the fundamental doctrine of Impressionist artists, but added new rigor and a new direction beyond the simple ideals of the School of Paris, becoming an artist that exhibited with many of the great French and French/Vietnamese artists of the 1960s.
Duteurtre continued to exhibit in the United States until the early 1990s. The other gallery directors that exhibited his work during his final living years marketed him as a Contemporary French Impressionist. One such example included an announcement in the Weirton Daily Times, the Friday edition, April 11, 1975: For April, We are featuring Pierre Duteurtre, French Contemporary Impressionist; Bogarad Fine Art Gallery, 326 Penco Road, a resort community in West Virginia (Fig 2.). Archives show that by the early 1980s he was exhibiting with Phyllis Powers in Miami, with a group of noted international artists in the announcement below from the Miami Herald:
Additional research revealed that Duteurtre also painted portraits, as in the case of Helen Berlin. Berlin grew up in poverty yet became a noted businesswoman and socialite. She had studied, worked and lived in Paris. Her obituary tells the rags to riches tale and the fact that after she returned to her childhood town of St. Paul, MN, she opened a French art gallery on Grand Avenue that was successful. Her obituary’s final line states: Portrait of Helen Berlin is by the French artist Pierre Duteurtre (1911-1989) - (Portrait Fig. 4).
Beyond these exhibits, Vincent Price, the actor and art historian, was asked by Sears Corporation to create the Vincent Price Collection - a fine art collection for Sears shoppers (1962-1971). The prices ranged from ten dollars up to three thousand and the goal was to offer fine art to the discerning shopper at Sears. Mr. Price included Duteurtre as one of the artists, which is identified by a Vincent Price Fine Art Collection note card attached to the back of a painting, meaning it was selected by him and sold through Sears. Archival art auction record (Fig. 3).
Duteurtre is a renown artist in France, but - perhaps best known as an illustrator for the publishing industry - including The Société Parisienne d'édition (SPE). He collaborated with famous publishers, authors and illustrators during this portion of his career. He illustrated important novels with quality and classical drawing techniques, yet his most famous illustrations seen in America was published in the western epic story of the Native American Chief Sitting Bull; in 1948 he received the grand prize for comics. Again in 1978-79 he received the “Album Prize” for the Glénat Editions. Then again in 1988 the French Post Office “La Poste” selected an illustration of Sitting Bull for a stamp. He was known for signing his illustrations with the shortened pseudonym “Dut”.
He also exhibited as an artist in his own country, examples include Legrip Gallery from 1945 to 1948 in Rouen, the Allard Gallery (1945) and the Galerie Por Volmar (1963-67) in Paris. When he moved to Paris, he took up operations at the former studio of Picasso at 49 rue de Gabrielle, there is a plaque on the outside of the building that is a tribute to Picasso.
Still to this day, Pierre Eugène Duteurtre is considered a hometown boy that made good according to the Rouen, Land of Impressionism - tourist association information website. He lived a long and interesting life, and the best way to communicate his life and achievements is to put them in a short resume format. Provided below:
In his painting: “At the Morning Vanity” from the late 1960s, he creates a well-balanced composition of a mother and young daughter, where the daughter is preparing for the day as the mother looks on (Plate 1). To create the composition he uses vigorous brushwork of short staccato strokes that he layers in a heavy fashion. In the background he uses open hatching brush strokes that are superimposed over one another, the open hatching suggests a sense of blur within the interior composition. He also uses circular rhythms in his brushstrokes that are found predominantly in the window sheers, the young woman’s sleeping gown, and the opulence glass set on the vanity. These brushstrokes frequently follow the form of the objects, such as the folds in the fabric of the sheers, the mother’s blouse and the daughter’s sleeping gown.
 |
| Plate 1 - At the Morning Vanity Oil on Canvas, 21.5 X 18 Inches Signed lower left corner: P. Duteurtre Stamped on Reverse: Reproduction Rights Reserved |
Duteurtre had a preference for priming his canvases in a white, richly smooth manner, which is related to the techniques of painting on porcelain. It is most likely he developed this idea from his World War II imprisonment by the Germans where he was assigned work in a porcelain factory. In this borrowed technique he built up his canvases from a smooth white ground with smaller to medium strokes of thick paint - presumably applied with a soft sable brush, he made the strokes more flowing with the addition of linseed oil. A close inspection of the faces and the strawberry blonde hair, shows the buildup of the generous impasto.
In the composition he surrounds the painting with a personal touch, beautiful paint handling, color, action, storytelling, and the mother and daughter unequivocally are there to be observed. The heads of the mother and daughter are completely stated along with the arms and hands. The mother looks on as her daughter combs her hair in the direct center of the painting, anchoring the young woman as the composition's main subject. There is some soft modeling of the skin-tones where he appears to have blended the paint with his fingers. Likewise, Duteurtre fully models the strawberry blonde hair, making it appear that this is the one place in the composition where he is using long painting strokes. Pretty mothers with young daughters come off as unforced tenderness or maybe sentimentality. Yet I once heard the noted Chicago gallery owner, Richard Love say “everyone likes a pretty woman hanging on their wall”.
Wikipedia states that Duteurtre left his life of teaching and illustration in the 1960s and from that point on, he painted for the rest of his life. Archival research shows that by the mid-1960s he was part of the stable of renowned French artists at Wally Findlay Galleries, with operations in Palm Beach and Chicago (fig. 1). Wally Findlay’s tagline: Specialists in French Paintings; Impressionists, Post Impressionists, Fauves. That is how Duteurtre should be categorized as a Post Impressionist. As a Post Impressionist, he retained the fundamental doctrine of Impressionist artists, but added new rigor and a new direction beyond the simple ideals of the School of Paris, becoming an artist that exhibited with many of the great French and French/Vietnamese artists of the 1960s.
Duteurtre continued to exhibit in the United States until the early 1990s. The other gallery directors that exhibited his work during his final living years marketed him as a Contemporary French Impressionist. One such example included an announcement in the Weirton Daily Times, the Friday edition, April 11, 1975: For April, We are featuring Pierre Duteurtre, French Contemporary Impressionist; Bogarad Fine Art Gallery, 326 Penco Road, a resort community in West Virginia (Fig 2.). Archives show that by the early 1980s he was exhibiting with Phyllis Powers in Miami, with a group of noted international artists in the announcement below from the Miami Herald:
July 25, 1982 | Miami Herald, The (FL)
Author/Byline: BARBARA GUTIERREZ Herald Staff Reporter | Page: 19 | Section: NEIGHBORS NW
ART EXHIBIT: A wine and cheese reception will take place today as the Phyllis Powers gallery, 7351-A Miami Lakes Dr., opens an exhibit of the works of several well-known Latin American painters: Cuban Wilfredo Lam, Mexican Leonardo Nierman, Nicolas Piquer from Venezuela, Jose Llul from Spain and French painter Pierre Eugene Duteurtre. Hours are noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Additional research revealed that Duteurtre also painted portraits, as in the case of Helen Berlin. Berlin grew up in poverty yet became a noted businesswoman and socialite. She had studied, worked and lived in Paris. Her obituary tells the rags to riches tale and the fact that after she returned to her childhood town of St. Paul, MN, she opened a French art gallery on Grand Avenue that was successful. Her obituary’s final line states: Portrait of Helen Berlin is by the French artist Pierre Duteurtre (1911-1989) - (Portrait Fig. 4).
Beyond these exhibits, Vincent Price, the actor and art historian, was asked by Sears Corporation to create the Vincent Price Collection - a fine art collection for Sears shoppers (1962-1971). The prices ranged from ten dollars up to three thousand and the goal was to offer fine art to the discerning shopper at Sears. Mr. Price included Duteurtre as one of the artists, which is identified by a Vincent Price Fine Art Collection note card attached to the back of a painting, meaning it was selected by him and sold through Sears. Archival art auction record (Fig. 3).
Duteurtre is a renown artist in France, but - perhaps best known as an illustrator for the publishing industry - including The Société Parisienne d'édition (SPE). He collaborated with famous publishers, authors and illustrators during this portion of his career. He illustrated important novels with quality and classical drawing techniques, yet his most famous illustrations seen in America was published in the western epic story of the Native American Chief Sitting Bull; in 1948 he received the grand prize for comics. Again in 1978-79 he received the “Album Prize” for the Glénat Editions. Then again in 1988 the French Post Office “La Poste” selected an illustration of Sitting Bull for a stamp. He was known for signing his illustrations with the shortened pseudonym “Dut”.
He also exhibited as an artist in his own country, examples include Legrip Gallery from 1945 to 1948 in Rouen, the Allard Gallery (1945) and the Galerie Por Volmar (1963-67) in Paris. When he moved to Paris, he took up operations at the former studio of Picasso at 49 rue de Gabrielle, there is a plaque on the outside of the building that is a tribute to Picasso.
Still to this day, Pierre Eugène Duteurtre is considered a hometown boy that made good according to the Rouen, Land of Impressionism - tourist association information website. He lived a long and interesting life, and the best way to communicate his life and achievements is to put them in a short resume format. Provided below:
- Birth and Death:
- Born: 10 July 1911 at Deuil-la-Barre (Val d'Oise).
- Death: 9 November 1989, Netherlands, of a stroke.
- Parents:
- Father Pierre Victor Duteurtre, an architect, and his mother Emma Léontine Lefèbre, a milliner.
- Marriages:
- Berthe Georgette Tourneroche in 1937, died during his German captivity.
- Emmy Sarniak, Polish. died in 1989.
- Education:
- Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts, 1928-1935.
- Military Experience:
- WWII - Mobilized by the French, then taken as prisoner for three years, worked in a German porcelain factory. 1943 he was repatriated to the Red Cross.
- Teaching Experience:
- Fine Arts Instructor, Beaux Arts of Rouen.
- Lived in La-Bouille for a long time according to the tourist bureau.
- Career Highlights:
- Starts out at Offenstadt Brothers, an important publishing house.
- SPE - The Parisian Publishing Company.
- The newspaper - Coq hardi.
- Career Awards:
- 1931 Prix de Rome (Ecole Des Beaux Art, Paris, - Concours Prix de Rome).
- 1948 The Young Norman Painting Prize.
- 1959 Premiers Prix - Composition et Portrait, a Deauville.
- 1962 Grand Prix - Société Des Artists Normands.
- 1968 Medaille Argent - Société Des Artistes Francais.
- 1969 Premier Prix Peinture Figurative Signatures.
- 1969 Medaille OR - Art Sciences Lettres.
- 1969 Medaille OR - Artists Francais.
- 1969 Prix de La Foundation Taylor Artistes Francais.
- The Grand Prix of Comic Strip.
- French Cross of Merit and Dedication.
- Membership:
- Comite' de la Société des Artistes Normands
- Archival Research and Documentation:
The Palm Beach Post, Jan. 1966 - Wally Findlay Galleries (Fig. 1 above):
The Weirton Daily Times, April 1975 (Fri.) - (Fig 2 below).
Miami Herald, The (FL), July 25, 1982, Author/Byline: BARBARA GUTIERREZ Herald Staff Reporter - (Included in blog).
The Vincent Price Collection Art Note (Fig 3 below):
Palm Beach Daily News, Feb. 1987, Auction Sale Announcement:
Estate of Princess Sophia Lichtenstein (below):
Twin Cities, Pioneer Press,
Helen Berlin Obituary,
July 19, 2020, (Portrait Fig. 4 below):
Exhibit Catalogue:
J. Allard, 3 Peintres (Lucas, Largeteau, Duteurtre) ; 3 Sculpteurs (De Bus, Leleu, Joly),
[Galerie J. Allard], [Paris], [1945], Exhibit Catalogue.
Benezit Dictionary of Artists - Listing:
Duteurtre, Pierre Eugène French, 20th century, male, Born 10 July 1911, in Deuil (Val-d'Oise). Painter. Exhibited Post-Impressionist canvases in Paris at the Salon d'Automne, at the Salon des Artistes Français, at the Painters Witness to their Time (Peintres Témoins de leur Temps) and at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. Auction Records Versailles, 23 March 1986: Woman with Flowers (oil on canvas, 22 × 18 ins/55 × 46 cm) FRF 8,000 Versailles, much more in the listing.
Website Reference:
Website: https://en.visiterouen.com/la-bouille/ - Pierre Duteurtre, Rouen, the Land of Impressionism: La Bouille, as land of Impressionism, Normandy has inspired the greatest artists. La Bouille is one of its charming villages that are bound to make an impression and has intrigued painters including Gauguin, Alfred Sisley, Albert Lebourg, Henri Vignet, William Turner and Pierre Eugène Duteurtre. Frequently called upon for the Normandy Impressionist Festival, La Bouille is overflowing with art galleries that highlight the talent of numerous artists. The birthplace of Hector Malot, you can admire the childhood home of the writer, the author of “Nobody’s Boy”.
Website: https://en.visiterouen.com/la-bouille/ - Pierre Duteurtre, Rouen, the Land of Impressionism: La Bouille, as land of Impressionism, Normandy has inspired the greatest artists. La Bouille is one of its charming villages that are bound to make an impression and has intrigued painters including Gauguin, Alfred Sisley, Albert Lebourg, Henri Vignet, William Turner and Pierre Eugène Duteurtre. Frequently called upon for the Normandy Impressionist Festival, La Bouille is overflowing with art galleries that highlight the talent of numerous artists. The birthplace of Hector Malot, you can admire the childhood home of the writer, the author of “Nobody’s Boy”.
____________________________________________________
©2023. 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. The photos and blog was created by Mr. Waller and all written materials were obtained by the Fair Use Section 107, of The Copyright Act. #waller-yoblonskyblogspot #walleryoblonskyblogspot #contemporaryfrenchimpressionism #PierreEugèneDuteurtre #PierreDuteurtre #postimpressionism #Helenberlin #Rouenimpressionism #Rouen
Comments
Post a Comment