Augustin Grass- Mick

AUGUSTIN GRASS-MICK (France,1873-1963).
"The print dealer".
Oil on panel.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 62 x 47 cm; 82 x 66 cm (frame).
In this work the artist revalues the figure of the art dealer, whose role as an indispensable artistic agent regained great importance during the 19th century. The author proposes a tribute from an aesthetic perspective based on an image based on everyday reality, interpreted through the use of a loose and vibrant brushstroke.
Augustin Grass-Mick was a painter and draftsman specialized in portraits, urban scenes and landscapes, and adopted the artistic name of "Grass-Mick" from the beginning of his career. He participated in the second stage of the magazine Le Phare littéraire et artistique from the end of 1893, directed by Gyp de Nixo (pseudonym of Gaston Fouraignan), and was closely associated with figures such as Paul Verlaine, Antoine Bourdelle, Auguste Rodin, Edgar Degas and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. In the July 20, 1894 edition of that magazine, a biographical portrait of a somewhat fanciful tone was dedicated to him.
From 1898, he developed an outstanding career as a press cartoonist, collaborating with numerous newspapers and illustrated magazines such as Le Cri de Paris, Le Charivari, Le Sourire, Le Journal pour tous, Le Pêle-Mêle, La Caricature, La Vie pour rire, Le Tutu, Sans-gêne, Jean-qui-rît, Le Frou-frou, l'Almanach Vermot, La Gaudriole, La Chronique amusante, Le Bon Vivant, Le Pompon, Nos loisirs and Les Hommes du jour, among others.
In December 1904 he exhibited at the Berthe Weill gallery in Paris, along with artists such as Gottlob, Charles Léandre, Ricardo Florès, Noblot, Roubille and Louis Vallet. In 1906 he participated in the Salon d'Automne, as well as in the Salon des Indépendants. He exhibited again at the Salon d'Automne on a regular basis between 1909 and 1913, becoming a member of that institution. In these spaces he presented works in gouache representing domestic interiors, still lifes, portraits and landscapes. During this period he was represented by Eugène Druet's gallery.
Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, he settled in Marseilles, where he actively collaborated with Le Journal de Marseille. In this city he also undertook research on Honoré Daumier's drawings, organizing an exhibition on them and even locating the artist's birthplace.
Grass-Mick's career is characterized by technical and stylistic versatility, as well as by a constant involvement in the artistic and intellectual circles of his time, both in Paris and Marseille.