Lot 5: Emile Munier (French, 1840-1895) Her best friend 21 x 25in (53.5 x 63.5cm)

Emile Munier (French, 1840-1895)
Her best friend signed and dated 'E. MUNIER 1882' (lower left)oil on canvas21 x 25in (53.5 x 63.5cm)

Provenance: Private collection, Hot Springs, Arkansas, since 1930s;Thence by descent to the present owners.Born into a modest working class family from Paris in 1840, Emile Munier and his two brothers followed into their father's footsteps as upholsterers at the Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins, where they started their artistic training under the tutelage of Abel Lucas. Emile distinguished himself as a particularly gifted artist, exhibiting at the Salon from 1869 onwards. During the 1860s, Munier experienced tremendous challenges and joys. His new wife, Henriette bore him a son, Emile Henri, and died six weeks later. During the same time, his artistic standing rose dramatically after receiving three medals at the Ècole des Beaux-Arts. He also frequented the studio of William Bouguereau and adopted his academic teachings, which are quite apparent in his works executed after the early 1870s. A second marriage to a young painter, Sargine Augrand, produced a daughter, who became his most frequent sitter. Munier's two children, Henri and Marie-Louise, were the artist's primary source of inspiration beginning in the early 1880s and they appear frequently in his work. Munier established himself as the most popular painter of children and their pets among French and American collectors. The present painting is one of his most popular compositions, which he repeated several times, substituting a cat or a doll for the dog. The little girl with blond curls on a pillow trimmed with lace, appears invariably in all variants, and her posture is repeated in Munier's popular Trois amis from 1885, a composition that was reproduced extensively in many forms. Munier continued to exhibit at the Salon many delightful compositions of children and cherubs until his death in 1895 at the age of 55.We are grateful to Howard Rehs for confirming the authenticity of this work, which will be included in his forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist. A certificate of authenticity accompanies this lot.