Percival Leonard Rosseau

Percival Leonard Rosseau (1859-1937) Irish Setters on Point, 1918 signed and dated "Rosseau 1918" lower left oil on canvas, 20 1/4 by 28 in. Percival Rosseau was born near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Considered a premier painter of sporting dogs, Rosseau did not pick up a paintbrush until the age of thirty-five. After leaving an eclectic business career including stints as a cowboy and a lumberjack, he sailed to Paris to attend the Acad�mie Julian. There he studied under Jules Lefebvre (1836-1911), whose other students included Frank W. Benson (1862-1952), Childe Hassam (1859-1935), and Edmund C. Tarbell (1862-1938). His entry at the 1904 Paris Salon, a painting of a pair of Irish wolfhounds, gained him pivotal acclaim. He returned to the United States where he found a ready market for his work among wealthy sportsmen and received many commissions from first-rate breeders of pointers and setters. Rosseau�s best works capture the tense action of hunting dogs and depict them in romantic landscapes. His style is loose and painterly, suggesting the influence of the French Barbizon School. "Irish Setters on Point" shows Rosseau at his best. His expertise is apparent in the finely depicted dogs that are staunch on point. The tension of dogs is set off nicely against the atmospheric background, a trademark of the artist's work. Provenance: John Levy Galleries, New York The Estate of John R. Jaqua Christie�s, New York, June 8, 1984, Lot # 194 The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, California Acquired from the above by the current owner

Lot 321 Percival Leonard Rosseau American, 1859-1937 In the Snipe Country , 1905 Signed Rosseau and dated 1905 (ll), inscribed as titled on the stretcher Oil on canvas 24 x 32 inches C Property of a California Collection Estimate $35,000-60,000 Frame rubbing. Light scattered craquelure throughout. No visible restoration under UV light. Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Doyle New York shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging.

Percival Leonard Rosseau (1859-1937) Pointers signed and dated 'Rosseau/1909' (lower right) oil on canvas 32¼ x 39¾ in. (81.9 x 101 cm.) [With]M. Knoedler & Co., New York. Mr. E.L. Doheny, Los Angeles, California. By descent. Gerold Wunderlich & Co., New York. [With]Lisa Dawn Schneider Curatorial Consultants and Galleries, New York and Boston, Massachusetts. Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1988. Property from a New York Corporate Collection Rosny-sur-Seine, France, n.d.

July 16-17, 2011 Lot 0068 Percival Leonard Rosseau (North Carolina/Connecticut, 1859-1937) "Bill's Covey", published by Brown & Bigelow, St. Paul, Minnesota, signed lower right in pencil "Percival Rosseau" and titled lower left, drypoint etching on cream paper, 7-3/4 x 10-3/8 in. (plate), 12-1/2 x 16 in. (page), good condition, one fingerprint in upper margin Private Collection, North Carolina Estimate: $400 - $800

Other properties Percival Leonard Rosseau (American,1859-1937) Leda and the Duck signed and dated 'Rosseau / 1905' (lower right) oil on canvas 23 3/4 x 32 1/4 in. (60.5 x 82 cm.) By all accounts, Percival Leonard Rosseau led anything but aconventional life. Essentially orphaned by circumstancessurrounding the Civil War, were he lost his father, mother and twobrothers, he and a younger sister were subsequently raised byfriends in Kentucky. As a young man he tried several different trades including that ofcowboy on cattle drives along the Chisholm Trail. He eventuallyowned a successful import business in New Orleans, which allowedhim to retire at the age of 35. It was at that unlikely age heturned his interest toward art and went to Paris to enroll in theAcademie Julian. Even his getting to Paris was unconventional.Rather than taking the Atlantic crossing, he went west via Japanand the Far East, stopping in Hawaii where he met his futurewife. In Paris Rosseau's received critical acclaim for his paintings withdogs by the Salon of 1903 and he began a career as a painter ofsporting and animal scenes. He returned to the United States in1915 and settled in the artists' colony of Old Lyme, CT. While inthe U.S. he enjoyed the patronage wealthy Southern clients as wellas that of Percy Rockefeller who built a studio for the artist andsupplied him sporting dogs as models on his estate Overhills nearFayetteville, NC. The present work shows a Llewellin type of Setter returning with aMallard hen from a pond. Painted early in his career in 1905, itshows Rosseau at the height of his observational powers. Particularcare is given to the anatomic correctness of the pose and thedetails of the coat and markings. From this depiction it appearsthat we can make the identification of the same dog, Leda as in theeponymous 1905 masterpiece now in the collection of the AmericanKennel Club. (see illustration)