"“the Couple” Elie Miller-ranson (1907 – 1989)"
Oil on canvas.Signed, dated 1949, and located in "Paris."
Dimensions including frame: 65 cm x 86 cm
Dimensions of the work without frame: 60 cm x 81 cm
Shipping: Secure packaging and delivery by registered Colissimo with insurance, for mainland France: €35 - Europe: €45.
Elie Miller-Ranson was born in Mornac-sur-Seudre (Charente-Maritime) on May 3, 1907.
He began painting at the age of six. At ten, he took lessons from several teachers: Charles ESCUDIER (Paris, 1848), Paul RICHER (Chartres 1849–1933), and most notably, the Belgian artist Jean LECROART. He first exhibited his works at the age of thirteen at the Royan Arts Fair, where he received critical acclaim.
From the ages of 16 to 19, he continued his artistic studies at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. He was then appointed professor of drawing in Saint-Louis-du-Sénégal in 1925. Captivated by the beauty of African landscapes, he devoted part of his work to capturing the atmosphere of these regions and rendering their color and poetry.
He decided to create and organize the Society of Friends of the Arts of Dakar in 1928-1929, with friends. He was appointed and reappointed Commissioner General each year until 1939. He himself encouraged painters and created an annual group exhibition.
He did not limit his work to expressing his love for the bountiful nature of colonial countries. He also painted numerous portraits, particularly of official figures, such as General BREVIE, Governor of Côte d'Ivoire, former Head of Public Works of Côte d'Ivoire, and a bronze bust of Thérèse NARS, which adorns a square in Dakar.
He received other official commissions, which he completed during his many travels. He was entrusted with the decoration of several palaces, including those of the Congolese government, in Sudan, and in Abidjan, where he stayed for a year and a half, decorating the war memorial. Several private exhibitions were also dedicated to him in Abidjan.
At the age of twenty-two in 1929, he was accepted into the Salon des Artistes Français, of which he remained a permanent member. He was also a member of the Société des Beaux-Arts de la France d'Outre-mer. Two years later, in 1931, he was awarded hors concours at the Colonial Exhibition in Paris, and in 1937, he received the Prix du Gouvernement Général de l'Afrique Française. That same year, he exhibited at the Dakar Chamber of Commerce.
Thirsty for discovery and travel, he left the African continent for a trip to South America, where he was received in Rio de Janeiro by the French ambassador, the Marquis d'Ormesson, who commissioned two paintings from him. He exhibited in Sao Paulo, Santos, Montevideo, and Buenos Aires.
Back in Africa, he arrived in Morocco in 1940, settling there permanently after the war. He then held numerous solo exhibitions, notably in Casablanca at the Hôtel Majestic gallery and at the Venise Cadre gallery, where he regularly exhibited twice a year, as well as in many other galleries. He also exhibited in Marrakech, Rabat, Kenitra (formerly Port Lyautey), Agadir, Fez, and Meknes. He was then best known and appreciated for his flower paintings. His talent and extreme sensitivity made him a flower specialist, like the painter Pierre REDOUTE ST. HUBERT (Belgium, 1759 – Paris, 1840), a painter of roses. His bouquets, with their splendid and vibrant colors and striking realism, earned him great success, renewed at each exhibition.
In France, he participated in several events where he received several distinctions. He received the first prize for West Africa in 1938. In 1964, he was named Commander of the French Overseas Merit and of the Sovereign States, Malagasy, African and Asian French-speaking countries and their friends. He was appointed Officer of the National Overseas Merit on July 14, 1965, the same year winning the Berthe Morisot Prize and in 1968 the Goya Prize at the Castres Museum. In 1973, he received the Grand Prix des Fleurs at the Salon de Paris, in 1975 the medal of the City of Paris and in 1984 the Grand Prix International d’Aquitaine in Mauléon as well as a silver medal from the City of Bordeaux by Jacques CHABAN DELMAS, Deputy Mayor of Bordeaux. He died on May 21, 1989 in Casablanca.
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