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drawing of a boat in a body of water next to a buildingdrawing of a boat in front of a building on a purple wall
Morgane Gillieron commissaire-priseur

28 - Odette CAMP (1909–1979) The Quays of the Seine, Paris Charco…
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Estimate €100 - €150
Sale commission
Description
Odette CAMP (1909–1979) The Quays of the Seine, Paris Charcoal on paper Titled in the bottom left-hand corner, signed ‘Odette Camp’ in the bottom right-hand corner 29 x 43 cm Framed DESCRIPTION Originally from Marseille, she moved to Paris with her parents in 1912, where she studied at the École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs and the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts, as well as in the studio of the painter Jean Despujols. She began her career under the pseudonym “Otomasi”: her colourful, figurative oil paintings, executed with a palette knife, were inspired by southern French subjects, notably Provence and Corsica. She exhibited regularly at the ‘Salon d’Automne’, the ‘Société des Amis du Louvre’, the “Indépendants” and the “Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts”, and several of her paintings were acquired by the State, the City of Marseille and even by certain public figures, such as Jean Gabin. Before the Second World War, she was one of the artists exhibiting at the Galerie Carmine on Rue de Seine in Paris, alongside painters from the École de Paris who went on to become famous: Yves Brayer, Georges Douking, Othon Friesz and Serge Poliakoff. Her first solo exhibition took place in Marseille in February 1942 at the Galerie Saint Fé. In 1947, she decided to revert to her maiden name, Odette Camp. This greater assertion of her identity coincided with a change in style – freer and less academic – as well as shifts in subject matter and atmosphere: it was Paris, Brittany, ‘grisailles’ and ‘seascapes’ that inspired her at that time, and her paintings were reminiscent of Albert Marquet. During this period, which lasted until 1955, in addition to designing the sets for her husband’s opera *L’Atlantide* (in Vichy, then Lyon), several solo exhibitions in Paris received rave reviews: Galerie Barbedienne, Avenue F. Roosevelt (1949), Galerie Serret, Rue du Faubourg St-Honoré (1952), and Galerie Cazelles (1954), also on Rue du Faubourg St-Honoré. From 1958 onwards she began to experiment with drawing, and exhibited in 1960 at the Galerie Motte, rue Bonaparte, then in Geneva in 1966, establishing her new talent. A master of Chinese ink, she depicted old Paris, Venice and Ibiza, adding highlights of gouache. She continued to take part in numerous art fairs, and several of her works were once again acquired by the State and the City of Paris. Her last two solo exhibitions took place at the Café Procope (1975) and at Les Cimaises Ventadour. It was in the capital that two major tributes were paid to her: one in 1981, showcasing her entire body of graphic work at the Galerie Hérouet on Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, and the second in 1983 at the Musée Carnavalet, ‘Paris disparu’, to mark the donation of 40 drawings. An essay by the museum’s Chief Curator, Bernard de Montgolfier, an article by Olivier Schmitt in *Le Monde* (24 July 1983), and another by Edmée Santy in *Le Provençal* (24 August 1983) all acknowledged that Odette Camp was an authentic artist in her own right. Uninfluenced by passing fashions, her timeless art of drawing makes her a unique and endearing figure of the École de Paris, she who was so deeply attached to the capital. THIS LOT WILL BE TRANSFERRED TO THE DROUOT STORAGE FACILITY AFTER THE SALE; IT WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR REVIEW. Please refer to the auction house’s terms and conditions regarding the collection of lots before bidding.
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About the sale EXCELLENCE AUCTION: PAINTINGS, WORKS OF ART, 20TH-CENTURY DESIGN, FASHION & JEWELLERY
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Auction time 06/26/2026 at 1:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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