Born : 1880Died : 1950Documented citizenships : France
Born in Nantes, Pierre Roy (1880–1950) constructed his paintings from precisely rendered familiar objects. Shells, fruit, seeds, eggs and ribbons come together in poetic scenes that account for his association with Surrealism. In 1925 he participated in the first exhibition of Surrealist painters, followed in 1926 by a solo exhibition whose catalogue carried a preface by Louis Aragon. His activity extended beyond easel painting to theatre sets, covers for Vogue and advertising posters. He also collected nursery rhymes, illustrating them with stencil-coloured woodcuts for Cent comptines, published in 1926. New York’s Museum of Modern Art holds Danger dans l’escalier (1928) and L’Heure d’été (1929), both oil paintings on canvas.
This profile brings together identity references for Pierre Roy and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.
SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record. Profile updated :
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