Description:

George Louis Viavant
American/Louisiana, 1872-1925
"Nature Morte: Mallard Duck"
watercolor on paper laid on board
1916, signed, dated and localized mid-left, framed.

A lifelong New Orleanian, Viavant's paintings of fresh game from his hunts along the swamps and bayous surrounding the city were his particular forte. Only two artists in Louisiana, Viavant and Achille Perelli, worked predominantly in the nature morte genre, an historic and nationally popular subject matter which seemed a perfect fit given Louisiana's reputation as a hunter's paradise with a wide variety of wildlife species. During his career, Viavant successfully invented a tool for modifying a camel-hair brush that allowed him to scrumble the gouache and watercolor until he achieved the exact hues and texture needed in the brief time allowed by the medium. He often spent three to four days on one painting, and his attention to detail accomplished a completely accurate image in line, texture, and color of the fowl and fish he hunted and depicted throughout his lifetime. The mallard duck offered here is a particularly fine example of one of the artist's most sought-after subjects.

  • Dimensions: Sheet: 29 1/4 x 19 3/4 in. (74.3 x 50.2 cm.), Frame: 36 x 24 x 1 in. (91.4 x 61 x 2.5 cm.)
  • Medium: watercolor on paper laid on board
  • Condition: No signs of past restoration; moderate mat burn; beginning signs of foxing; unevenly trimmed edges; light scattered dark pinpoint accretions throughout; toning of paper; remnants of adhesive along all edges under mat; frame has breaks and losses at lower corners, scattered marks, nicks, abrasions and blue paint accretions.

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April 4, 2025 11:00 AM CDT
New Orleans, LA, US

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$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $2,999 $100
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $29,999 $1,000
$30,000 $49,999 $5,000
$50,000 $99,999 $10,000
$100,000 + $20,000