Lot 96: CYCLES CRESCENT. 1899.

Chaix, Paris.

601/2x403/4 inches.

Condition B: restoration, repaired tears and creases along vertical and horizontal folds; repaired tears and creases in margins. Ramsdell was an American painter who studied in both New York and Paris. While in Paris he became heavily influenced by the Art Nouveau work of Eugene Grasset and Alphonse Mucha, as can be seen in this striking, though derivative, bicycle poster. Ramsdell depicts a woman and her bike with her tresses and her dress blowing in the wind--and such hair is hard to miss! (Possibly a record for the greatest volume of hair in art history.) From the fabric of the gown to the lilies caught in the wind, the poster has a stylistic similarity to that of the men who inspired him. But the comparisons end with the strong, earthy colors and the large corporate logo which appears at the bottom right. Nevertheless, the image is eye-catching, compelling and powerful. 100 Bicycles p. 19, Prior Dodge p. 160.