Longus

Dahpnis et Chloe

1954 · 002315 — Paris: Manuel Bruker 1954. First Limited Edition. Wraps. Very Good. No. 12 of 20. With a folio of three original ink drawings signed by Vertes a folio of 10 engravings that were rejected for use in the book proper and a suite of all the engravings used in the book. This copy is also inscribed by the artist to the collector/owner which is not something called for in the limitation. 204 pp. Stylistically the Hungarian-American Vertes brought a loose near-abstraction sensibility to what nonetheless remained lucidly representational art. He executed his images with a spare economy while keeping his lines fluid and flowing. At times his output could look slapdash and improvisational; this effect though splendidly captured the emphemeral moment in an ever-changing scene and we can sense easily movement and motion. Vertes was a modernist very much of his time and place. His was an oeuvre that dared to please the average man and thus his work decorate such places as the lobby of the Carlyle Hotel in New York. Vertes was also a costume designer who won an Academy Award for his art direction and costume designs in the movie "Moulin Rouge" released in 1952. Manuel Bruker unknown