Pierre de Belay Sold at Auction Prices

Painter, Etcher

(b 11 Dec., 1890; d Paris 1947) Pierre de Belay came to Paris in 1919 and by 1925 he had found his first artist’s studio. In the 30s, he moved his studio to Montparnasse, then home to a wild group of artists which included Chagal, Soutine, and Modigliani. This group frequented the many nightclubs and cafes populated with artists and socialites in Montparnasse and they became a major source of inspiration for Belay. Very talented at drawing, from 1923 to 1926 he worked for the magazine Harlequin, a periodical of art and spectacles. His reputation as a painter was cemented in 1930 with a solo exhibition of fifty works depicting scenes from Parisian life.