JEAN NEGULESCO
(American, 1900-1993)
VENICE, 1928
Oil on Canvas
32 ½ x 19 ½ Inches
Signed Lower Left, Titled ‘VENISE’, and Dated 1928

Born in Romania, Jean Negulesco studied in Vienna in his teens. In 1919 he moved to Bucharest, where he worked as a painter before becoming a stage decorator in Paris. In 1927, he was in New York for an exhibition of his paintings and subsequently settled in Hollywood. Negulesco continued to paint professionally but became increasingly occupied with his successful film career. He was the original director for 1941’s “The Maltese Falcon” and, in 1948, was nominated for an Academy Award for Directing for “Johnny Belinda”. Negulesco won the BAFTA Award for Best Director in 1955 for “How to Marry a Millionaire”, starring Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Betty Grable. We are pleased to offer this dramatic Venetian view by this notable American Modernist.

REFERENCES:

Artists in California 1786-1940, Hughes, Vol. II, p. 807; Mallett’s Index of Artists, p. 309; Davenport’s Art Reference Guide, 2007/8 Edition, p. 1718; Artfact.com; Artprice.com; AskArt.com; IMDB.com Internet Movie Database; World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945, pp. 827-832; et al.