106

Leon Kelly

(1901-1982)

Le couple sur un allée.

Oil on canvas, circa 1925.
Signed upper right and verso.
25 1/2 x 21 1/4 in. (65 x 54 cm.)
Frame: 28 x 24 in. (71.1 x 61 cm.)

  • Provenance:
    Private collection, Philadelphia.
    Private collection, New Jersey.
    Thence by descent to the current owner.
  • Notes:
    Leon Kelly was profoundly influenced by his exposure to Cubism as a young man. He was born in Perpignan, France, but his family relocated to Philadelphia soon after his birth. Kelly's early work inspired by Analytical Cubism predates his enrollment at the Philadelphia School of Industrial Art in 1921 and at the Pennsylvania Academy of Design. His instructor at the Pennsylvania Academy of Design, artist Earle Horter, encouraged Kelly's interest and showed him his own collection of modern European art. In 1924, Kelly won a scholarship to study in Paris and he experienced the paintings of the Old Masters as well as the Cubists and Surrealists first hand. During his time in Europe, Kelly would begin to reject Cubism in favor of a more Surrealist style. In 1930, Kelly returned to the United States. The present painting from his time in Paris straddles Kelly's waning interest in Cubism with its limited color palette, and his burgeoning figurative practice.
  • Condition:
    Please contact the Specialist for the auction to request a condition report.

    Condition reports and additional images are provided as a courtesy and should be used by you to aid in the formation of your own opinion regarding condition. All material is sold subject to Swann's standard Terms and Conditions of Sale as published in our catalogues and posted on our website, and include the following terms: (1) all property is sold "as-is"; and (2) works cannot be returned on the basis of condition.

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March 12, 2026 12:00 PM EDT
New York, NY, US

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