Roger de la Fresnaye (1885-1925)

The present watercolor is a study for the monumental oil painted in 1913, now at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (fig. 1). This key work is part of a small group of figure compositions that la Fresnaye executed between 1912 and 1914, just before World War I. Together with Le quatorze juillet, La conquête de l'air is considered to form "a complete expression of the talent and the intent of the artist" (G. Seligman, op. cit.., p. 48).

(fig. 1) Roger de La Fresnaye, La conquête de l'airi 1913. The Museum of Modern Art, New York.