‘The Beach at Deauville’ by Victor Baky*

Item Description

Oil painting on canvas of part of the beach near Deauville, France depicting the scene on a particularly blustery day.

White peaked waves can be seen breaking heavily on to the sands as a few people are dotted at the edge of the shore, ahead of their wooden beach huts placed a little further back from the sea.

In the central foreground a canvas shelter protecting the camp fire has been erected, its material flapping in the offshore breeze. The billowy clouds in the sky above are particularly realistic and one can almost hear the breakers and feel the strength of the wind.

Strongly and confidently executed using a palette knife which gives the painting a distinctive feel, but there was initially some confusion over the artist.

The French auction house from whom we acquired it credited the artist as being Harry Becker but this is incorrect.  After extensive research by a knowledgable and trusted contact in Australia, we can now confidently name the artist as the Hungarian Victor Baky (Gyözô Baky in Hungarian, 1902-1972).  Baky moved to Paris in  1924 to study at the Grande Chaumière and was elected a member of the Féderation Française des Artistes in 1928.

This painting dates from the late 1920’s to very early 30’s and measures 56 X 65 cm including the frame, with the visible image at 44.5 X 53.5 cm.