Hirschfeld, Al. (1903-2003). "Practice" - Signed Hirschfeld Lithograph.
Signed color lithograph "Practice" from the "Rhythm Series" of the noted American artist Al Hirschfeld. Lithograph, 1970, signed Hirschfeld in pencil at the lower right and numbered 42/120 in white pencil at the lower left. Sight 19.5 x 25 inches (49.5 x 63.5 cm.), framed in gold metal frame to an overall size of 20.25 x 26.25 inches (51.4 x 66.7 cm.). Very fine.
Though not recorded explicitly as such, to our view the present work very likely depicts the celebrated French ballet dancer, actress and chanteuse Renée Marcelle "Zizi" Jeanmaire (1924 - 2020). An exquisite, modernist ballerina who partnered such ballet greats as Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov, she also made Hollywood films with Bing Crosby (“Anything Goes,” 1956) and Danny Kaye (“Hans Christian Andersen,” 1952). But she was best-known as a flamboyant, seductive cabaret singer and dancer in the vibrant music halls of her native Paris in the post-World War II years. Famed for her gamine hair bob, scant black corset, diminutive torso but long legs, and her pink ostrich feather outfits, she became one of France’s best-loved artistes. Her stage appearances in London and the United States in 1949 transformed her into a global dance star.
Hirschfeld, Al. (1903-2003). "Practice" - Signed Hirschfeld Lithograph.
Signed color lithograph "Practice" from the "Rhythm Series" of the noted American artist Al Hirschfeld. Lithograph, 1970, signed Hirschfeld in pencil at the lower right and numbered 42/120 in white pencil at the lower left. Sight 19.5 x 25 inches (49.5 x 63.5 cm.), framed in gold metal frame to an overall size of 20.25 x 26.25 inches (51.4 x 66.7 cm.). Very fine.
Though not recorded explicitly as such, to our view the present work very likely depicts the celebrated French ballet dancer, actress and chanteuse Renée Marcelle "Zizi" Jeanmaire (1924 - 2020). An exquisite, modernist ballerina who partnered such ballet greats as Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov, she also made Hollywood films with Bing Crosby (“Anything Goes,” 1956) and Danny Kaye (“Hans Christian Andersen,” 1952). But she was best-known as a flamboyant, seductive cabaret singer and dancer in the vibrant music halls of her native Paris in the post-World War II years. Famed for her gamine hair bob, scant black corset, diminutive torso but long legs, and her pink ostrich feather outfits, she became one of France’s best-loved artistes. Her stage appearances in London and the United States in 1949 transformed her into a global dance star.