Approaching Storm, Racetrack (Primary Title)
Guy Pene du Bois, American, 1884 - 1958 (Artist)
The American painter and art critic Guy Pène du Bois was in France from December 1924 through April 1930. It was during this time that he produced the studies (likely at Villerville-sur-Mer, in Normandy) that ultimately resulted in Approaching Storm, Racetrack. Unlike earlier French artists (such as Edgar Degas) who famously depicted racetracks, Pène du Bois was less interested in the equestrian subject than in the commotion stirred when storm clouds disrupt the privileged confines of an otherwise carefully choreographed social setting. Chairs topple and umbrellas unfurl as men in top hats and women wearing flapper-style dresses run for cover in a scene that is filled with chaos and tension. The artist uses pigment sparingly to define the changing light.
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