Bold, dense and dizzy geometric patterns from the 1928 publication Inspirations, a portfolio of 24 color plates (pochoir prints) with 128 compositions by French-American designer, artist, colorist and muralist André Durenceau (1904–1985). I sourced these images from the NYPL Digital Gallery. You can browse the full publication here.
Of note, a pochoir is a print created from stencils that was frequently used in France by prominent artists and craftsmen for the reproduction of original color works. Specifically, pochoirs were used to produce illustrated deluxe portfolios, books, limited-edition journals and decorative and fine art prints from 1895 and 1935. (via ArtLex)
Presently there is very sketchy biographical information on artist Mr. Durenceau online. Via Ask Art I learned he was born in Auray, France in 1904 and died in Tampa, Florida in 1985. While a resident of Los Angeles in the early 1930s, Durenceau painted a mural of Samson and Delilah in the Leimert Theater and worked in the art department of Technicolor Studios. A mural commission took him to NYC in 1933. An archived TIME magazine article from May 28, 1934 offers these additional bits…
Andre Durenceau, 28, is an unworldly French-born U.S. citizen who studied at the Beaux Arts in Paris, once designed textiles for the United Piece Dye Works in Manhattan. There he met Mrs. (Kay) Kaplan, also a designer. In Hollywood, he was given a job as color adviser to Technicolor Inc. [...] Mrs. Kaplan also went to Hollywood, was persuaded by Durenceau she would be a more successful manager than artist. Her first job as manager was to get commissions to decorate Hollywood homes. He painted murals of horses and gazelles for William Haines, a mural for Leila Hyams, decorated pianos for Joan Crawford, Lionel Barrymore, Lilyan Tashman. He illustrated Oscar Wilde’s Selfish Giant and an Anthology of Immoral Poems for the Walpole Press. One Sunday, he decided to sculpt. Lacking materials, he fashioned a statue from coat hangers, the hinges of an ironing board, some mud. His ambition is to give California an open-air windowless architecture.
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I possess a copy of the original portfolio titled “Inspirations”. The portfolio was printed in 1928 and contains about 20+ plates produced via screen process. Each plate has several designs on it in various color combinations. Each plate is separated by a aheet of vellum and contained in a printed cardboard-like cover. The plates are in good condition but are brittle and some corners are gone. The design colors have held up well over time and they appear to be as rich and brilliant as when they were originally applied. I am looking to sell this portfolio and trying to guage its value.