Self-Portrait as a Gentleman by French Artist Pierre Deval Circa 1920s

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An important self portrait of the artist Pierre Deval, (1897-1993) as a young romantic landowner in the 1920s posing in … Read more An important self portrait of the artist Pierre Deval, (1897-1993) as a young romantic landowner in the 1920s posing in riding attire at his newly purchased 17th century bastide (or castle) Domaine d’Orves in southern France. The property and gardens are now a national treasure of France, and were once an important gathering place in the Côte d’Azur for many creative luminaries, among them his friends the writer Henri Bosco, and the artists Raoul Dufy and Henri Matisse.

During World War II, the property was occupied by a German artillery unit, who cut down most of the trees to position the sight line for their cannons. He and his wife worked for more than 30 years to restore the grounds of their bastide after the war.

Deval’s work has been gaining interest among collectors in recent years, particularly for his mid-20th century work, and he is represented in six French Museums and in Tokyo and the British Museum in London. Two major retrospectives of his work have also been held in recent years, one at the Museum of Toulon and at the Maison Ravier in Morestel near Lyon. See less