Charles Jean Agard (French, 1866 to 1950)
Agard was admired by his contemporaries for his ability to accurately capture the energy of a scene. Early in his career he was aided by Pierre Puvis de Chevannes (1824 to 1898) who helped promote and exhibit his work. In the 1890′s Agard participated in exhibitions with Henri Lebasque (1865 to 1937) and Georges Seurat (1859 to 1891), and was considered one of the rising stars of the post-impressionist movement. Camille Pissaro (1830 to 1903) once stated, “as an exemplar of a draughtsman, Charles Agard has no equal.” Agard debuted at the Salon des Independants in 1893 and continued to exhibit there, at the Salon d’Automne, and the Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts with great success for years.
Reference: Benezit. Dictionnaire des Peintres. Librairie Grund. 1976. Vol. I, p. 52.
Information courtesy of Neal Auction Company, February 2009.