Lot 3: Georges Cyr (Lebanon, 1880-1964) L'Aquarium (Homage to Antoni Gaudi)

Georges Cyr (Lebanon, 1880-1964)
L'Aquarium (Homage to Antoni Gaudi) oil on canvas, framedsigned "George Cyr", dated "1937" (lower right and on the verso) and titled "L'Aquarium" on the verso, executed in 193778 x 139cm (30 11/16 x 54 3/4in).

Provenance:Property from a private collection, LondonParis, Ader, Art Abstrait & Contemporain, 15 Jun 2016, Lot 205The present work is an intriguing and unusual marine composition by renowned Franco-Lebanese artist Georges Cyr. Depicting a colourful subaquatic seascape with lush coral and animated aquatic life, the work draws heavily on Gaudiesque imagery imbuing the composition with an almost surreal otherworldly ambience. Georges Albert Cyr was born in Montgeron (Seine et Oise), in France, in June 1881. The beginnings of his artistic career, circa 1910, were confirmed as a result of advice from the artist Jean-Baptiste-Armand Guillaumin, friend of Gauguin, Pissaro and Monet. His first one-man show was held at the Galerie Moderne in Rouen in 1922.By 1924, Cyr was exhibiting at the Salon des Independants in Paris and in that year held one-man shows in le Havre, Rouen and Paris. In 1934, having suffered setbacks in his personal life he accepted the opportunity to move to Beirut, where he was assisted in finding accommodation by the French Embassy.After his first few weeks in Beirut, he fell in love with the city and decided to settle in Ain El Mraisse. Cyr quickly made a circle of close friends, both Lebanese and French, particularly the Lebanese poet and playwright Georges Schehade in addition to A.Tabet, G.Bounoure, J.Chevrier, H.Seyrig and G.Naccache. His studio was thought of by many as an art school and it became the favourite meeting place of artists such as Shafic Abboud, Elie Kanaan, Omar Onsi, Farid Aouad, Cesar Gemayel, Michel Basbous and others