Woman wearing scarf and pearls, watercolor. Signed and dated, 1936 at lower right. Sight measures 13 in. high x 10 in. wide, (with frame 23.5 in. high x 19.5 in wide).

Marie Laurencin, intimate of Braque, Picasso and Matisse, was born in 1883 and lived in the Montmartre District of Paris. Though her early portraits show the imprint of the Fauves and Cubists, her romantic and delicate temperament asserted itself against these schools.

She was prim, conservative and always wore a kitchen apron when she painted. She had a celebrated love affair with Guilliame Appollinaire, great French modern critic, but was never able to marry him because of demands of her domineering mother. Called the 'muse' by her fellow painters, her works are loved for their fragile beauty. Though they may be feminine in subject and execution, the distortion of form and the simplicity of expression mark her for a Modern Master.

Condition: In very good condition.