Boris O'Klein Hand-Coloured Etching "Chacun son Tour" | Dirty Dogs of Paris | c.1930s to 1950s

Product Description

Few comic prints have been as loved, or as widely carried home from Paris, as Boris O'Klein's Dirty Dogs of Paris. "Chacun son Tour," which translates as "Wait Your Turn," is one of the most enduringly popular images in the series. A motley line of dogs queue with varying degrees of patience at the only lamppost on the street, helpfully marked "ICI." Every character is given its own posture and expression, from the indignant bulldog to the resigned spaniel, and the humour has kept people smiling for the best part of a century.

The artist behind it had a wonderful eye. Born Arthur Klein in Moscow in 1893 and later settled in Paris, O'Klein spent hours watching the street dogs outside his studio and saw in them all the vanity, mischief and bad manners of people. He turned those observations into hand-coloured etchings that became some of the most collected comic prints of their era. This is a genuine original-period impression, hand signed in pencil lower right and titled in pencil lower left, with the "Copyright by O'Klein" inscription and the "Eau Forte Originale" mark in the upper margins, and the colour applied by hand so each figure carries its own warmth.

Displayed as a long horizontal piece, it brings wit and a touch of old Paris to a room. It works beautifully in a traditional or country interior, in a study or library lined with books, or in a downstairs cloakroom where a piece like this always raises a smile. It also earns its place on a gallery wall of vintage animal art, sitting happily alongside Louis Wain cats and other characterful illustrations.

Key Features

• Original hand-coloured etching from Boris O'Klein's celebrated Dirty Dogs of Paris series, with the colour applied by hand
• Pencil signed by the artist lower right and pencil titled "chacun son Tour" lower left
• The original "Eau Forte Originale" margin inscriptions
• Charming original wooden frame, nailed at the corners in the old-fashioned way
• A witty, conversation-starting horizontal piece for a hallway or a gallery wall

Size

Framed approximately

(W) 59cm  x (H) 35cm x (D) 1.5 cm

Condition

In very good vintage condition for its age, with gentle toning and light foxing that speaks to its authenticity and the character it has gathered over the decades. The original wooden frame is held together with nails at the corners in the traditional manner.