Parisian Balcony Oil Painting with Eiffel Tower by Simone Haret

Someone has left a book on the café table and a watering can in the corner, as if they stepped inside only a moment ago. A red and white awning shades the green chairs, red flowers run the length of the railing, and past the rooftops the Eiffel Tower stands small and silver on the horizon. It's a warm afternoon in Paris. Simone Haret painted it in flat, singing color, closer to Dufy than to any textbook, so the scene arrives as pure feeling before you take in a single detail. Oil on canvas, signed upper right and dedicated in her own hand: “à Maman pour sa fête,” to her mother, for her name day.

About the Artist
A listed artist, Simone Haret was a daughter of Paris. Born in the city in 1904, she lived and worked in the 9th arrondissement, below the hill of Montmartre, and her name is recorded among that quarter’s painters in the Dictionnaire des peintres à Montmartre. In 1926 she carried a still life of anemones to the Salon des Indépendants, the no-jury, no-prize exhibition where Seurat, Matisse, and the Douanier Rousseau had all shown, and hung her work among the independent painters of Paris. She painted the city she lived in: its balconies, its flowers, its afternoons. This view, with the Eiffel Tower on the horizon, is her Paris.

Why We Love It
This one was never meant for a gallery. Simone Haret painted it for her mother and signed it to her by hand, a gift for her name day. That single fact changes everything. The joy in it is real: the color, the flowers along the railing, the table and chairs waiting in the afternoon sun, all of it chosen by a daughter who wanted to give her mother a Paris day she could keep forever. A painting made as a gift carries a tenderness a commission never will, and this one was loved inside one family for the better part of a century before it reached us. The ornate gilt frame it wears now suits it completely, its warm gold lifting the greens and reds and giving this small, tender scene the presence it deserves. Hang it, and you keep that warmth on your wall: a daughter’s gift to her mother, and a Paris afternoon that never fades.

Key Features:

• Origin: Paris, France
• Medium: Oil on canvas
• Period: First half of the 20th century, circa 1920s–1950s
• Signature: Signed upper right by the artist
• Dimensions: 24 5/8" x 21 1/2"
• Condition: Excellent condition for its age. The paint layer is stable and the color is rich and vibrant, with no visible fading. There are two small tack holes in the canvas, stable and not affecting the composition, consistent with how the canvas was mounted. It comes in an ornate giltwood frame, likely a later addition. Its only flaw is a small area of gilt loss along the very top edge, out of sight when the painting hangs. Please see photos for details. 
• This piece will be shipped from Los Angeles.