Rare Moulin Rouge Poster Up For Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Dec 4th 2008 at 12:02PM

Fans of Art Nouveau may want to check out this one, Swann Galleries in New York is holding an auction of rare and important Art Nouveau posters on December 17. The highlights include 11 posters by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and seven by Alphonse Mucha. The posters are from the collection of Bob and Peggy Marcus, who assembled their collection over the course of 30 years. The auction's top lot is a copy of Lautrec's Moulin Rouge, La Goulue, 1891, the artist's first poster, in the very rare three-sheet version, and with the original top banner. Considered one of the most important posters in the history of graphic arts, the enormous color lithograph advertises a performance by can-can dancer La Goulue at the famous cabaret. When the poster was first released, dealers found the size unmanageable and discarded the top banner, making versions with the original top virtually unavailable. The provenance goes back to Lautrec's own estate, after which it passed on to his close friend, art dealer Maurice Joyant, and then descended to his heirs. It is estimated at $250,000 to $350,000.

Tags: alphonse mucha, AlphonseMucha, art, art nouveau, ArtNouveau, mucha, posters, toulouse-lautrec