YVONNE BANNELIER
"AMERICA"
INK DRAWING, SIGNED
FRENCH-AMERICAN, C.1935
9 X 6.5 INCHES
Yvonne Bannelier Born c.1906 French-American painter, sculptor, illustrator, printmaker and weaver, Yvonne Bannelier started her art career in her native country, France. At the age of 13, when she entered the legendary Elisa Lemonnier Design School for women in Paris, she was the youngest of 400 students. Paul Poirot (1879 -1940) the famous fashion king engaged graduates from this institution - acknowledging the high standards of the founder Madame Lemonnier (1805-1865). After her five-year study, Bannelier attended the School of Beaux Arts for nearly two years and then followed this with a period of study at the Academy de la Grande Chaumiere. Thereafter Bannelier went to Provence where she received training in weaving and wood block printing under renowned polyhistory/educator and pacifist, Lucien Jacques (1891-1961). Miss Bannelier came to the US in 1927. During her time spent in New York she declared: “The New York skyline is one of the most beautiful sights I have seen. The coming true architecture is hidden in these lines. It Is not a matter of nationality, as so many people like to put it, but a matter of upbringing. When American artists stop imitating European art and begin to create from their own minds according to modern time, American art will be born.” She worked as design instructor for Alvin Colt Designs - the renowned Broadway/Hollywood couture-house and was also active in Pratt, Kansas and Wisconsin where she was hired by Frank Lloyd Wright for his Taliesin project. By this time Yvonne had a small daughter named Mimi. Although Bannelier's stated ambition was to do work in sculpture she produced many watercolors and paintings. Yet still, what is seemingly most appreciated is her rich and precise black and white work. Exhibition Collections:
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