News: Alphonse Mucha book on sale for 300 ' 000 US$
December 4, 2007, received from Swann Galleries

HAND-COLORED PROOFS BY ALPHONSE MUCHA - UNSEEN FOR 110 YEARS - FEATURED AT SWANN GALLERIES’ DECEMBER 19 AUCTION OF RARE & IMPORTANT ART NOUVEAU POSTERS New York—Swann Galleries will offer a pair of albums containing 138 hand-colored proofs by Art Nouveau master Alphonse Mucha in their December 19 auction of Rare & Important Art Nouveau Posters. The illustrations are from Mucha’s exquisite book, Ilsée, Princess de Tripoli, Paris, 1897, a tour-de-force of design and illustration and has not been exhibited in 110 years. The pre-sale estimate is $300,000 to $400,000. “This is the first time these images will be on view in the United States,” said Nicholas Lowry, Swann President and Poster Specialist. “They were last mentioned as part of a major Mucha exhibition in Paris in 1897 at the prestigious Salon des Cent.” Each illustration is a lithographic proof to which Mucha applied watercolor embellished with silver and gilt highlights. These images, whose colors remain remarkably fresh, were intended as a guide to the printers when preparing the color plates for Ilsée. They are gathered in two sumptuous albums bound in green brocade. “Each example is like a roadmap the artist made for the printer,” said Lowry. “Mucha’s original intent was much more varied and lavish than the published version, which for reasons of time and budget was printed in a relatively muted palette. This makes these unique images especially desirable.” . . . A fully illustrated color catalogue with information on bidding by mail or fax is available for $35 from Swann Galleries, Inc., 104 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010, and may be viewed online at www.swanngalleries.com