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Lot 325
Champagne Hau. ca. 1895.
Sold
$1,080
Est.
$1,200 - $1,500
Live Auction
PAI-LXXX: Rare Posters
Live Bidding began Feb 23, 2020 at 11:00 AM EST
ARTIST
WALTER CRANE (1845-1915)
Category
Description
Artist: WALTER CRANE (1845-1915)
Size: 12 1/2 x 16 5/8 in./31.7 x 42 cm
Condition: B+/ Slight tears and stains in margins.
Printer: Imp. F. Champenois, Paris
Reference: Ref: Hiatt, p. 188; Reims, 1362; Internationale Plakate, 91; Price, p. 87; PAI-LXXI, 316 (var)
Key Words: Art Nouveau; Alcohol

Champagne Hau. ca. 1895.
A flaxen-haired maiden, draped in Grecian robes and gracefully camouflaged with the vineyard around her, shoulders her amphora as she offers a fizzing chalice of Hau Champagne to the viewer, so light and effervescent it illuminates the surrounding air. "Not until master decorator Walter Crane appeared that anything like a sense of color was awakened in the English conception of a poster" (Price, p. 80). His designs, however, are uncommonly difficult to find. Even as far back as 1897, Affiches Etrangères lamented that his five poster designs were particularly rare. But he wasn't limited to the poster form alone; associated for a time with William Morris, he also designed stained glass, mosaics, relief work pottery, metals, linens, wallpapers, and fabrics as well. This is the smaller format.