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"A French Nurse"

Creator: Pierre Edouard Frere (Attributed)
Offered by: Arthur T. Kalaher Fine Art

Description
Here for your consideration is a finely painted, delicate work of a young French nurse directly attributed to the artist, Pierre Edouard Frere. The painting has a wonderful innocence and a touch of sadness that Frere has captured in this austere setting. Unsigned with vente stamp lower right. Provenance: See photo of the inscription attached to back of artwork. Oil on wooden mahogany panel with no repairs. Titled on old label verso. The back panel also includes the label for William H.Cole Gallery, Los Angeles, California. Circa 1875. Condition is very good; recently cleaned. Overall in a period frame, perhaps the original frame 17.5 by 14.5 inches.

Pierre-Edouard Frere was born in Paris in 1819, and the younger brother of the Orientalist painter Theodore Frere (1814-1888). At the age of seventeen he entered the Ecole de Beaux-Arts where he studied under the direction of Paul Delaroche. Based in Ecouen, he exhibited regularly at the Salon in Paris from 1842 to 1886, and at the Royal Academy in London from 1868 to 1885, and won several medals over the course of his career.

Pierre-Edouard Frere is known mainly for his domestic scenes, depicting daily life in the country. He specialized in small-scale genre paintings in warm colours, painting scenes of children at play and family life. Executing his paintings in a meticulous yet painterly manner, Frere used delicate brushstrokes to diffuse the contours of his subjects, giving the works a softness characteristic of his style.

An exhibition in London in 1854 organized by dealer Ernest Gambert, lead artist and critic John Ruskin to Frere’s work, which he very much admired, writing: “I cannot tell how I am ever to say what I want to say about Frere’s pictures. I can find no words tender enough, nor reverend enough. They are all beauty without consciousness; dignity without pride; lowliness without sorrow; and religion without fear.”

Pierre-Edouard Frere died in Ecouen in 1886.

More Information

Notes:	Firstly, old information written on the back of artwork states where the painting was purchased and who the artist for the painting is, Pierre Edouard Frere. Lastly, there is a vente mark on the right lower bottom of the painting that correspond to other vente markings on known works by the artist.
Origin:	France
Period:	19th Century
Materials:	Oil paint on wooden mahogany panel
Condition:	Very good
Creation Date:	Circa 1875
Styles / Movements:	Impressionism, Victorian
Incollect Reference #:	442926