About this Item
Two original New Year cards designed by Leon Victor Solon. One given to his father, Marc-Louis Solon, and the other to his brother, Camille Solon. Original engravings printed on card with plate marks. Recipients names hand-written in pencil. Cards read: '1901 1902 With Best Wishes From Leon V. Solon To ~ ~ Cards printed by 'Art Repro Co. London.' 12.5 x 15.5 cm. Some discolouration and creasing to mainly the margins of both cards, else fine. A unique opportunity to own a couple of very personal items from the Solon family of artists. Léon----- Victor Solon (1873 ? 1957), son of ceramist Marc-Louis Solon, was an English painter, ceramist, and graphic artist. He was a purveyor of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles and an important Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style) figure. Solon was the eldest son of Marc-Louis Solon, employee of the factory Mintons in Stoke-on-Trent, and Laure Arnoux, daughter of the artistic director there, Léon Arnoux. He was the brother of fellow artists Camille Solon and Albert Solon of Solon and Schemmel Tile Company. Solon was artistic director of Mintons between 1900 and 1909, and made an important contribution to the development of art nouveau in the Minton ceramic collections. In 1901, he was joined by John William Wadsworth (1879?1955) and both incorporated motifs borrowed from the Viennese secessionist movement. He specialized in tube-lined vases and plaques marketed as "secessionist ware". Solon emigrated to the United States in 1909 and in 1912 he became the artistic director of the American Encaustic Tiling Company based in Zanesville (Ohio). He was responsible for the polychroming of the famous sculptural decorations on the exterior of Rockefeller Center and coloured Lee Lawrie's Wisdom, Sound, and Light sculpture at the entrance of 30 Rockefeller Plaza and was then hired to be the colorist for the entire public art project at Rockefeller Center. His grave is located in Lakeland, Florida. ----Marc-Louis-Emmanuel Solon (1835 ? 23 June 1913), was a renowned French porcelain artist. After beginning his career at the Sèvres Pottery, he moved to Stoke-on-Trent in 1870 to work at Mintons Ltd, where he became the leading exponent of the technique of ceramic decoration called pâte-sur-pâte. Solon married Laure, the daughter of Minton's art director, Léon Arnoux, and the Solons raised a large family in The Villas near the Mintons factory. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and with Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran. He died at Stoke-on-Trent on 23 June 1913. --- Camille Antoine Arnoux Solon (1877?1960) emigrated to the US, where he worked with architect Julia Morgan doing painting and tile work in the private libraries and indoor pools of William Randolph Hearst's mansions and estates at San Simeon, California. In 1914 Solon joined his brother Albert Solon, who was the pottery director at Arequipa Sanatorium in Fairfax, California. Solon also designed and painted the murals in the Gothic Suite of Casa Grande's private 3rd floor. He also designed, ?The Creation,? an interior mural in the Temple of Religion and Tower of Peace building at the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco. As he aged, Solon suffered from failing eyesight and used a beloved German Shepherd guide dog to aid him. Solon died in Marin County on 8 January 1960 and was buried at Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery in San Rafael.--- Additional information and images available upon request. Seller Inventory # 000696
Contact seller
Report this item
Bibliographic Details
Title: Two Original Antique 1901 Art Nouveau New ...
Publisher: Art Repro Company
Publication Date: 1901
Binding: No Binding
Illustrator: Leon Victor Solon
Condition: Good
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Signed: Inscribed by Illustrator(s)
Edition: 1st Edition
