Would you have these two over to dinner?

 

Humour and wit in the art of Alfred de Sauty…

Alfred de Sauty, Coming Over, early 1930's.

I recently acquired this print by Alfred de Sauty entitled ‘Coming Over’ and it reminded me that I had been meaning to write a piece about his humorous side.

 These two are obviously on the way over to a neighbour’s house for dinner. Are they providing the food or is the way so treacherous that they need a gun to ensure that they make it there safely!? Either way it’s a witty comment on the nature of community in the wilds of the US. The print is dedicated to ‘Mr and Mrs RP Brown from A De Sauty’ – could the couple perhaps have inspired De Sauty? I guess it may never be possible to discover this, although it is fun to speculate.

 

Alfred de Sauty, The Proposal, 1930's.

Alfred de Sauty, Matrimony, 1930's.

Alfred de Sauty, Divorce, 1930's

Alfred de Sauty, The Proposal, Matrimony and Divorce, 1930's.

During lockdown I was emailed these three intriguing images which join to form a series. It’s s satirical comment on the nature of business deals. It may well relate to the cut throat nature of the way of doing business, a kind of brashness that De Sauty would not have experienced first-hand before he went to Chicago in Autumn 1923. I would date this work from the early to the mid-1920’s, not long after he moved across the Atlantic. It matches the style of works he produced whilst still in the UK.

De Sauty produced three prints entitled The Proposal, Matrimony and Divorce, and have only just got back to looking at them (where does the time go?). These three works are related to business deals in America under 'marriage' related titles. Looking closely at 'Divorce' the money sacks have $ signs on them which confirms to me it is most likely a comment on business deals in America.

 

Alfred de Sauty, Floreat Chicago, 1935 or earlier, Smithsonian Museum.

They are quite similar in style to his brilliant depictions of the growing metropolis of Chicago which date to the mid 1930’s – about 10 years after his arrival in the US.

Could the businessman be a self-portrait (or a portrait of someone in particular)? The figure holding the gun (a man in a woman's dress) might be representative of a forced marriage / business deal at gunpoint. The businessman appears to be giving up everything to get the deal (even though he is at gun point). Of course, the woman isn't what she seems to be for the rather unusual gunpoint proposal and is depicted wearing high heels as part of the deceit. In the other two (Matrimony and Divorce) he / she is now wearing boots; perhaps revealing their true character.

The businessman is chained to the man / woman holding his goods (designs?) under his arm in Matrimony. Once the sinister the figure has got what they wanted (bags of dollars) they then divorce / break the deal with the businessman by kicking him away.

This could well be a comment on him finishing work at RR Donnelly & Sons (Lakeside Press) in Chicago but cannot be sure as there is very little known about De Sauty's personal life.

 

 

Rockwell Kent & Alfred de Sauty, De Sauty's Bad Dream, My Yours be Better, 1931.
More can be found about it through Underhill Books - here

De Sauty also worked closely with Rockwell Kent - and there is a piece signed by both De Sauty and Kent which makes me think that he had a rather wicked sense of humour (see above). Kent illustrated Moby Dick and De Sauty worked with Kent at the Lakeside Press binding his illustrated books (esp. N by E in 1930). The drawing shows various characters riding on and attacking Moby Dick and is a new year’s wish for the year ending 1930 and beginning 1931. Are the characters on the whale a part of De Sauty’s nightmare? ‘The piece is inscribed ‘De Sauty’s Bad Dream May Yours be better in 1931.’

Certainly, the seemingly brash world of American business deals and contracts at this time must have been something completely different to De Sauty's experiences in London. It must have affected him and inspired these fantastic images.