Gaston LE BOURGEOIS (1880-1956), "Walking Lion",... Lot 59

Gaston LE BOURGEOIS (1880-1956), "Walking Lion", bronze with shaded brown patina, H: 33 cm, L: 60 cm, W: 14 cm, monogrammed on the side of the terrace, numbered 5/15, two small spots of oxidation on the terrace, Gaston Le Bourgeois is one of the greatest animal sculptors of the 20th century, along with Rembrantd Bugatti, François Pompon and Lucien Guyot. In 1913, he was spotted by Jacques Doucet at the Salon des artistes décorateurs, In 1914, he designed a spectacular piece of furniture for Doucet, which was published in Art de Décoration. A friend of Rembrandt Bugatti, Gaston Le Bourgeois worked with him at the Jardin des Plantes, drawing and working on the model. Just after the war, silk manufacturer François Ducharne bought one of the 15 copies of the "Lion marchant" to decorate the Salle à manger designed by Jacques Emile Ruhlmann (an identical copy numbered 4/15 sold for 65,000 euros at the Rouillac auction house). Gaston Le Bourgeois also worked with Louis Vuitton during this period. His first solo exhibition took place at the Musée des Arts Deco in 1921. In 1925, his works, selected and produced by the Manufacture de Sèvres, were noticed at the Salon des Arts Decoratifs. At the same time, he also produced the frieze for the grand salon of the Hôtel le Collectionneur in Paris. In 1927, he took part in decorating the entrance hall of the Salle Pleyel. At the 1931 Colonial Exhibition, he presented a life-size elephant. In the 1930s, while professor and chair of sculpture at the École de l'Union Nationale des Arts Décoratifs, he took part in a number of programs, including the decor for the Versailles train station, Verdun Cathedral and, in 1939, the New York World's Fair. In 1947, a major exhibition of his work and that of his close relations was held at the Pavillon de Marsan. After the war, he delivered a war memorial to his home town of Rambouillet. Provenance: former collection of Countess Christian du Boisguehenneuc bibliography: 'Ruhlmann', by Florence Camard, éd. du Regard, Paris, 1983, pages 140-144.