Louis-Dreyfus Family Collection 2019

Adolphe Appian french, 1818–1898 View of an Estuary near Martigues Black chalk on paper 6 ¼ by 14 ⅛ inches ( 15 . 9 by 35 . 9 cm) Signed lower right provenance Private collection, New York; Jill Newhouse Gallery; William Louis-Dreyfus, 2010 .

A painter of the Ecole Lyonaise, Appian began his art studies by specializing in fabric and textile decoration. He was so skillful that he was sent to Paris to further his studies as a painter, and there he became friendly with Corot and Daubigny both of whom were major influences, teaching him plein-aire technique as well as etching. From 1853 on, Appian exhibited regularly at the Salon, winning the gold medal in 1888 . He is perhaps best known today for his rich, heavily worked charcoal drawings of landscapes that mark the beginning of a movement in that medium, later seen in the drawings of Courbet and Seurat. Appian travelled around France throughout his career recording local landscapes. He and his family spent many summers in the area of Martigues in the south of France where he often painted the many varied waterways of the area.