Mercedes Legrand '´in The Tramway'´

Large oil painting by Mercedes Legrand circa 1930 depicting a man in a tram, amusing painting signed lower right format with the frame 75cm x 71cm. Mercedes Legrand 1893-1945 Mercedes Legrand was born in Almodavar-del-Campo, Spain. Both her parents were Belgian. Legrand spent her early years in Spain, she studied in Brussels, England and Germany. Legrand attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels from 1916 to 1919. Legrand married the painter and art critic Roger Van Gindertael. She participated in the creation of the avant-garde magazine Héliante. In the early 1920s, she moved to Paris. Legrand exhibited at the Salon des Tuileries, the Salon d'Automne and in various group exhibitions in Parisian galleries. She also exhibited in several galleries in Brussels while she was still living in Paris. In 1924, she worked as a designer for the French newspaper Le Matin. Legrand exhibited with many avant-garde artists of her generation, such as Mané Katz, Pougny, Dufy, Friez, Lhote, Vuillard, and Rouault. She also had several solo exhibitions in Paris, including the Galerie Zak in 1935. Eugenio d'Ors wrote the catalogue essay for this exhibition. André Salmon also wrote an essay for another exhibition. In 1937, she remarried the painter Edmond Kayser and became director of the École des arts décoratifs de Limoges in 1938. The couple then settled in Limoges. It was at this time that Legrand began working in ceramics and enamel. In 1941, she fled Nazi-occupied Limoges because of her Jewish heritage. She took refuge near Avignon. Legrand painted many canvases. She is believed to have died of acidic chemical poisoning resulting from the production of enamel. Very few of her works are known to exist. She was influenced by Cubism and the opacity of Paris after the First World War. Her paintings have a superbly modern and mysterious quality that seems to come from being well travelled at a young age. Like many of her contemporaries, Legrand's work was almost forgotten, but recently there has been a growing interest in her work from sophisticated collectors.