Georges R. Ricard-cordingley (1873-1939) Shepherd In The Basque Country

Georges Ricard was born on January 30, 1873 in Lyon, son of Prosper Louis Ricard and Georgina Marie Cordingley. He spent part of his childhood in Lyon and Boulogne-sur-Mer. We detect in him early gifts for drawing. He lost his father in 1885. He began his training around 1887, becoming a pupil of Jean-Charles Cazin, a landscaper from Pas-de-Calais and the Côte d'Opale. He then joined the School of Fine Arts in Lyon and remained there from 1888 to 1889. He moved to Paris in 1890, where he studied at the Académie Julian as a pupil of Benjamin Constant, Louis Martinet and Jules Lefebvre. He lost his mother around 1892, went to England to his maternal family and added his mother's name to his name. He embarked for the North Sea with the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen (in) and carried out his first studies. In 1894, he met with great success at the court of Queen Victoria. He embarked a second time, in 1895, still for the North Sea and produced numerous studies of waves of clouds, of the port and of portraits of fishermen which he exhibited in Paris and London. He embarked a third time, around 1896, in the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean with the Société des travaux de mer and was shipwrecked in Newfoundland. In 1901, he set up his studio in Boulogne-sur-Mer. He divides his time between London, Paris and Boulogne-sur-Mer and paints portraits and seascapes. He realizes the decoration of the casino of Wimereux. He left again to travel to Australia, where he exhibited from 1909 to 1910. In 1911, he married Suzanne Giraud-Teulon, the daughter of the historian Alexis Giraud-Teulon, and had three children, Éliane, Louis and Gabrielle. During the First World War, he was assigned to Lyon as a stretcher-bearer and continued to draw. After the war, he moved to Cannes, Villa des Enfants, and at the same time bought Villa René, Boulevard Sainte-Beuve, which runs along the beach at Boulogne-sur-Mer. From 1924 to 1928, he settled in Neuilly-sur-Seine and shared his life between the Paris region where he lived, Cannes and Boulogne-sur-Mer. He made numerous trips to Normandy, Brittany, the Mediterranean Sea and North Africa. He exhibited in Paris, Cannes (Cercle Nautique), Boulogne-sur-Mer and its surroundings. He went on a trip to the lake regions (Switzerland, Italy and France), then, from 1928 to 1930, in Holland, stayed in the Basque Country, went on a navigation trip in the North Sea. He returned, from 1931 to 1934, to North Africa, particularly to Morocco, where he exhibited in 1934. He spent the winter in Cannes and the summer in Boulogne-sur-Mer. He travels to Spain and Portugal. In 1936, he moved to Mougins and then to Le Cannet, always wanting to be close to the sea. He died on April 25, 1939 in Cannes following a stroke.

Oil on paper mounted on original cardboard. Young shepherd and his goats in the Basque Country. Georges Ricard-Cordingley stayed there. Signed lower left.
Box dimensions 39.5 x 26.5 cm.