Lot 156: ARTHUR FOACHE CLEMENT. Circa 1900.

53x37 inches. Bourgerie, Paris.
Condition B+: creases and foxing in image. Framed.
This outstanding poster, in the purest French Art Nouveau style, is an incredible tour-de-force of curvaceous line, outline and color. The gracious allegory of victory advertises one of the most important bicycle companies of the time. Adolphe Clement was a pioneer in all senses of the word. A locksmith with a small store on the Rue Brunel in Paris (the same street where Cheret had an early studio!), he began bicycle racing in 1878 and founded his bicycle company shortly thereafter. By 1890, along with Peugeot and Darracq, Clement was one of the larger manufacturers in the market. In 1891 he bought the exclusive rights to the Dunlop pneumatic tire,