BESSIE ELLEN DAVIDSON (1879-1965)

Of the landscapes and interiors in Davidson's first solo exhibition in Paris at Galerie Ecalle in 1928, Pierre Muller from Le Courrier wrote: 'One has, from the outset, an impression of distinction, of unaccustomed restraint ... There is nothing overwhelming in the welcome extended in these interiors, these landscapes. They make no effort of catch your eye or provoke astonishment. These are well-mannered paintings. But the more carefully you look at them, contemplate them, the more they will give up the secret of their discreet charm, and you will leave them only with regret.' (P. Little, A Studio in Montparnasse, Bessie Davidson: An Australian artist in Paris, Melbourne, 2003, p.100)

Lots 19-21 are from the collection of Conrad Kickert (1882-1965). Bessie Davidson met Conrad Kickert in 1925 when the Dutch artist and his wife moved into the apartment across from Davidson’s at 18 rue Boissonade in Montparnasse. Both expatriates in Paris, they soon became close friends and after the death of Conrad’s wife Géraldine in 1936, Davidson was to become a mother figure to Anne Kickert who was only ten at the time of her mother’s death. She was to remain part of their family for her lifetime, present at the wedding of Anne to Lucien Gard following the war, and then as a surrogate grandmother to the four Gard children.