Description
Alice Thévin was born near Paris, France, and spent her childhood first in Paris and then in Le Havre, where she attended the convent of Sacre Coeur. After earning her degree, she returned to Paris where her circle of friends included artists and writers. She came to the United States with American friends she had met in Paris. For several years she lectured on art and literature in Boston, Philadelphia and New York. Falling ill, she returned to France to recuperate. After recovering, she realized her long cherished ambition to become a painter. She preferred plein air painting in oils and watercolors, interpreting the Swiss and French countryside, villages and street scenes. Wherever she traveled, she looked for interesting subjects and would delve into the history and background information of her subject. As she grew older, Thévin divided her time between Europe and the U.S. America’s freewheeling atmosphere appealed to her restless, modern spirit and stirred her imagination: the pastoral old farm houses, barns and bridges of New Hampshire and Vermont, and the bustling, energetic metropolis of New York, where she enjoyed ferreting out the less obvious subjects: a forgotten church, a crooked street, a quaint corner, a tiny square, waterfront docks or a dilapidated tenement building. She exhibited her work in Paris, New York and Boston, though the act of painting was more important to her than an exhibition career. At her death she left behind many portfolios filled with sketches of Paris and New York.
Condition: Generally fine, with only minor toning and wear.
