Portrait de femme

Pastel on paper, undated [1928-30], signed lower left. Dimensions: 44×37.5 cm. Provenance: Collection Georges Couturat, Paris, c.1930; by descent; sale Geneva, Hotel Piguet, 14.03.2024 lot 25. The authenticity of this painting has been confirmed by Madame Anne-Marie Grammont-Camoin, and it will be included in the Charles Camoin catalogue raisonné currently being prepared by the Camoin Archives.
Note on the collector: Georges Couturat  (1890-1948) was a major dealer, patron and friend of painters in the early 20th century. He worked to promote the work of modern artists such as Manguin, Camoin, Cross and Signac, and he built up an extraordinary collection of several hundred works by those and other artists in his Paris apartment. As an aesthete, he never hesitated to offer advice to artists during their creative process. More than an advisor to some, his relationship with Manguin could be likened to that of a confidant, comforting the latter in his moments of doubt and helping him to establish his own painting style and career. His collection remained untouched and in his family and descendants for 76 years, until its dispersal at auction in Switzerland, where we acquired the present work