Albert Andre (French, 1869-1954), "La Meditation - Mlle. Jacqueline Bret devant La Cheminee, Laundun", oil on canvas, signed lower right, verso with a handwritten label and a partial label from "Galerie des Granges, Geneve", 21-3/4" x 13-1/4". Framed. Provenance: Galerie des Granges, Geneva; Christie's, Monaco, sale 16, May 3, 1989, lot 28; The Estate of Gary Baxter Webb, Houston, Texas. The portrait of the young woman offered here is Jacqueline Bretegnier. Born in 1904 to a well-to-do family in Belfort in the Franche-Comte region, Bretegnier came to the attention of Albert Andre at the age of 18 after she received a two month work commission to assist his wife Margueritte Cornillac (called Malek) in the production of theater costumes. Bretegnier stayed on for thirty years, working as Andre's model and assistant; she even became an accomplished artist in her own right. She was later adopted by the Andres, taking the name Bret-Andre. After the artist's death, she oversaw the family estate in Laundun, the home in which this portrait was painted, turning the home into a museum dedicated to the artist's memory.

In generally very good condition. Minor abrasion with losses to lower center edge.