Lot 163
GEORGES JULES VICTOR CLAIRIN (1843-1919)
PORTRAIT OF SUZANNE LALIQUE
Auction: 30 October 2025 from 12:00 GMT
Description
circa 1913
oil on canvas, framed
signed Á Suzanne Lalique son ami G. Clairin, applied plaque CLAIRIN Georges 1843-1919
Dimensions
140 x 80cm, 165 x 104.5cm framed
Provenance
Acquired by the vendor from Marc Arthur Kohn Auctions, France, 7 August 1997, lot 152B.
Footnote
Maritch-Haviland, N.de Léobardy, C., Lalique-Haviland-Burty Family Portraits, Limoges, 2009, p. 29, illustrated is a group photograph, taken at Cours-la-Reine in Paris, showing Suzanne Lalique wearing this same dress for a costume ball to mark her birthday in about 1913.
Georges Clairin is best remembered as an orientialist and portrait artist. He was a close friend and advisor to René Lalique. They regularly had dinner together and shared an interest in oriental objects, as well as travelling together to Venice. Clairin belonged to the bohemian world and painted Sarah Bernhardt, the celebrated actress of the day, in her different roles on numerous occasions. He also introduced her to Lalique, and she became one of Lalique’s most significant patrons for whom he designed jewellery. For both men, women were a constant theme of their work. As a family friend it is not surprising that Clairin should have painted Suzanne, René Lalique’s daughter, in costume for her birthday ball.