Edwin Walter Dickinson (1891-1978)
Edwin Walter Dickinson (1891-1978)

Concert Touche, Paris

Details
Edwin Walter Dickinson (1891-1978)
Concert Touche, Paris
signed, inscribed and dated 'To Dick Parmenter/E.W. Dickinson/St. Tropez '20' (lower left)
watercolor and graphite on paper
15.3/8 x 19.1/8 in. (39.1 x 48.6 cm.)
Provenance
The artist.
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Parmenter, St. Michael's, Maryland.
Literature
The New York Times, May 5, 1989.
Exhibited
New York, New York, Graham Gallery, Edwin Dickinson: Rare Perspectives, October-December 1986, n.p., no. 16, illustrated
New York, New York, Barbara Mathes Gallery, Bohemian Night Life: 1910-1935, April-June 1989

Lot Essay

Concert Touche, Paris was executed in 1920. The watercolor depicts Richard and Isabella Parmenter as a newly married couple who embrace one another at left. Dickinson became aquainted with the Parmenters during his twelve month stay in Paris during 1919 and 1920 and they often attended the Concert Touche recitals together. To the Parmenters' right is a newspaper bearing the headline "Parmenter Gagne Loterie," an allusion to Richard's good fortune in marrying Isabella. At the center a man sits with his hand to his head troubled over the marriage that has transpired. This man represents Dickinson, who has lost his friend Richard to marriage. Bereft of his friend's companionship, Dickinson considers seeking comfort from the ladies of the night beside him.