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One of three works by Raoul Pene du Bois in the sale.

PENE du BOIS, Raoul Henri (American, 1911-1985): Still Life Stufy of Grapes and Grape Leaf, gouache en grisaille (shades of gray) theater stage set design study, 6 3/4" x 7 1/2" (image, irregularly trimmed), 7 1/4" x 7 1/2" (sheet, irregularly trimmed), unsigned, Connelly Sale Estate Stamp verso. Unmatted and unframed.

Provenance:

Acquired by our family, the present owner, at the 1994 Estate sale.

Notes:

In December of 2011 a Profiles in History Auction on iCollector featured a Raoul Pene du Bois costume design on paper for Carol Channing that brought $ 3,025.00 including buyer premium.

In 2015 eBay seller quakerhill of New York, NY offered a Raoul Pene du Bois work on paper for $2,700.00.,br>
Raoul Pene duBois was an acclaimed Tony Award winning Broadway set and costume designer, a superb painter who worked in France and the nephew of Ash Can School artist Guy Pene duBois as well as related to Art Deco illustrator Richard Pene duBois and Connecticut painter Yvonne Pene duBois.

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About the Artist:

Raoul Henri Pène Du Bois, American (1912-1985):

Raoul Pene du Bois was an American Art Deco and Modernist painter and Broadway stage set and costume designer who won two Tony Awards. He was also the nephew of famed member of The Eight New York American Ash Can School artist Guy Pene du Bois as well as related to book illustrator Richard Pene du Bois and Connecticut Impressionist Yvonne Pene du Bois. Raoul worked in Manhattan, France, the Hamptons, Fire Island and Staten Island. During the 1994 to 1995 auction and gallery exhibition season I personally attended both the Westchester live estate auction and the Upstate New York Estate gallery tag sale of the contents of Raoul Pene du Bois\' studio that had been in storage in New York City since 1985. There were several dozen framed works, a few unframed oils and many unframed Broadway design sketches. I purchased a few oils, many drawings, this poster as well as a Pene du Bois family portrait by Raoul\'s uncle Guy that I subsequently sold to a collector that was later acquired by a noted museum. His early works often embrace Depression WPA era Modernism and many of his compositions are intertwined with subtly conveyed homoeroticisim of gay interest. Look for details embedded in his oeuvre that incorporate a trompe l\'oeil flourish or Surrealist nods as well as shading and modeling revealeding a knowledge of both his uncle\'s contemporaries, his French ancestral school of ecole de Paris influences and from time to time probably the work of Russians Tamara de Lempicka and Pavel Tchelitchew. I\'ve had this in storage for twenty years and have been meaning to get around to frame it but obviously I have not gotten to the project so I have decided to reluctantly let this gem go.

Several biographies from the internet:

This one from popular 1stdibs seller Renaissance Man about a work apparently of African American subject matter:

Son of the renowned figural painter and muralist, Guy Pene Du Bois, Raoul was enormously successful in his own right, serving as costume designer, scene designer and/or overall art director for countless Broadway musicals and plays from the 1930s to the 1980s. Du Bois won two Tony Awards, including one for Wonderful Town in 1953. This handsome depiction of an African American dancer with his arm raised high, shows an Art Deco-era stylization that suggests it dates to the 1930s or 1940s. This drawing has an estate stamp on the lower left corner of the reverse.

This one from Boston\'s famed Childs Gallery:

Raoul Henri Pène Du Bois, American (1912-1985)

Raoul Pène Du Bois was born on Staten Island, New York, the son of the banker René Pène Du Bois. Raoul was also the nephew of the painter, Guy Pène Du Bois ((1884-1958), and grandson of the writer, music and art critic for Hearst publications, Henri Pène Du Bois (1859-1906).

Costume designer, set director, and occasional art director Raoul Pene Du Bois began his long career at age 14, when he did four showgirl costumes for the Ziegfield Follies. He later was the designer for all of the costumes for the 1934 and 1936 Ziegfield Follies. At age 16 he designed his first Broadway musical Garrick Gaities and continued designing the costumes for musical revues and Broadway shows including works by Rodgers and Hart, Billy Rose, Leonard Bernstein, and Oscar Hammerstein. He worked on a number of big shows including The Music Man, Carmen Jones, Call Me Madame, One For the Money, Life Begins at 8:40, Two for the Show, Too Many Girls, and Kurt Weill’s Firebrand of Florence. Between 1939 and 1940, he designed Billy Rose\'s Aquacade for the New York World\'s Fair. He went on to design for ballets, ice shows, and other extravaganzas. Du Bois also designed costumes for the Rockettes.

He designed both the sets and costumes for Du Barry was a Lady, Panama Hattie, Lend an Ear, Alive and Kicking, New Faces of 1952, Plain and Fancy, Bells are Ringing, and Irene. Du Bois was nominated for and won a Tony Award in 1953 as scenic designer for Wonderful Town; nominated again in 1960 and 1964 for Gypsy and The Student Gypsy; was again a Tony Award winner in 1971 as costume designer for No, No Nanette, and nominated two more times, 1975 and 1980 as costume designer for Dr. Jazz and Sugar Babies. Walter Kerr, critic for the New York Times, described the visual impact of No, No Nanette as \"an explosion of Halloween colors, whorls and zigzags, forever putting psychedelic to shame.\"

Films he worked on include sets and costumes for Kitty, Frenchman\'s Creek, Lousiana Purchase, and Lady in the Dark—the latter two earning him Oscar nominations for Best Art Director (color) in 1941 and 1944.

Raoul Pène Du Bois died at age 72 on New Year’s Day 1985 in Manhattan.

A bio from Ruby Lane:

Costume designer, set director, and occasional art director Raoul Pene Du Bois began his long career at age 14, when he did four showgirl costumes for the Ziegfield Follies. He later was the designer for all of the costumes for the 1934 and 1936 Ziegfield Follies. At age 16 he designed his first Broadway musical Garrick Gaities and continued designing the costumes for musical revues and Broadway shows including works by Rodgers and Hart, Billy Rose, Leonard Bernstein, and Oscar Hammerstein. He worked on a number of big shows including The Music Man, Carmen Jones, Call Me Madame, One For the Money, Life Begins at 8:40, Two for the Show, Too Many Girls, and Kurt Weill\'s Firebrand of Florence. Between 1939 and 1940, he designed Billy Rose\'s Aquacade for the New York World\'s Fair. He went on to design for ballets, ice shows, and other extravaganzas. Du Bois also designed costumes for the Rockettes.

He designed both the sets and costumes for Du Barry was a Lady, Panama Hattie, Lend an Ear, Alive and Kicking, New Faces of 1952, Plain and Fancy, Bells are Ringing, and Irene. Du Bois was nominated for and won a Tony Award in 1953 as scenic designer for Wonderful Town; nominated again in 1960 and 1964 for Gypsy and The Student Gypsy; was again a Tony Award winner in 1971 as costume designer for No, No Nanette, and nominated two more times, 1975 and 1980 as costume designer for Dr. Jazz and Sugar Babies. Walter Kerr, critic for the New York Times, described the visual impact of No, No Nanette as \"an explosion of Halloween colors, whorls and zigzags, forever putting psychedelic to shame.\"

Films he worked on include sets and costumes for Kitty, Frenchman\'s Creek, Louisiana Purchase, and Lady in the Dark—the latter two earning him Oscar nominations for Best Art Director (color) in 1941 and 1944. Most works were in an intimate, small scale, often somewhat irregularly trimmed and on a wide variety of support material such as mat board, stationery, tracing paper, etc. Most works date between the 1930\'s and 1970\'s with the biggest concentration from the 1950\'s and 1960\'s.

Additionally:

Edan Hughes, author of the book \"Artists in California, 1786-1940\" as posted on the AskArt database: During the late 1930s DuBois was a studio artist, costume designer, and art director for motion pictures in Hollywood.

ALSO NOTE:

Raoul Pene duBois has an extensive Wikipedia page.

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Somewhat heavy pigment on somewhat lightweight sketch or tracing paper has produced visible paper rippling verso that is not particularly noticeable on the front of the composition.