Maurice UTRILLO (1883 - 1955) The tobacconist's in Saint-Bernard, 1930. Gouache. Signed*, dated and dedicated to Mauricia** pour sa beauté, pour Madame Gustave Coquiot l'admiration et l'affection de nous trois André Utter, Suzanne Valadon et Maurice Utrillo lower right, located lower left 34 x 50 cm Provenance : - Former Gustave Coquiot collection - Former private collection, Blois Exhibition : - 14th Salon de Montrouge, contemporary art, homage to Utrillo and Valadon, 30 April - 18 May 1969, reproduced on the poster Bibliography: - L'œuvre complet de Maurice Utrillo by Paul Pétridès, Paul Pétridès éditeur, Paris, 1966, described and reproduced, volume IV, pages 236 & 237 under N°AG234 * Signed by André Utter, Suzanne Valadon and Maurice Utrillo ** Mauricia Coquiot - born Anaïs Marie Bétant in Thiers - was a colourful figure in the artistic life of Paris in the early 20th century, leading a singular existence between theatre, circus and society. She came to Paris at a very young age, where she became known as Mauricia de Thiers, before marrying the writer and art critic Gustave Coquiot. An actress and circus performer, she appeared at the Folies Bergère and with the Barnum Circus. Nicknamed la femme-bilboquet, she went down in history in September 1904 for performing the first ever somersault in an automobile. A woman of spirit and close to the Montmartre milieu, she maintained close friendships with Suzanne Valadon, Maurice Utrillo and André Utter, whose taste for freedom and humour she shared. This work, dedicated by the three artists, bears witness to this sincere complicity and to Mauricia's influence within this unique artistic circle. Evidence of this friendship can be found in a portrait of Mauricia by Valadon dating from 1915 and in an interesting photograph featuring Mauricia Coquiot and Suzanne Valadon. Expert : cabinet Sevestre-Barbé - de Louvencourt