Oscar Gauthier (1921-2009) Identity or Gauthier with H 1948 Oil and collage on jute canvas signed in the centre, dated lower right, countersigned, dated and titled on the back 73.5 x 92 cm Provenance: > Private collection, Ariège Bibliography: PERSIN (Patrick-Gilles). Oscar Gauthier. Art inprogress, 2008. Reproduced on page 37. We would like to thank Jean-Pierre Arnoux for confirming the authenticity of this work. In 1948, Oscar Gauthier returned from a year's stay in the United States, joined the Colette Allendy gallery and became one of the leaders of Lyrical Abstraction. Our painting is of particular importance in the artist's career. It takes up the characteristic lines of his compositions of the time, treated in thickness, and adds a dimension that is both identity-based and humorous. In addition to the inscription "Gauthier né à Fours, Nièvre" (Gauthier born in Fours, Nièvre), he added "né en 1921" (born in 1921) and a photograph of himself as an infant. More enigmatically, a collage of pebbles in the top left-hand corner, a propeller and the letters RACSO in the top left-hand corner (Oscar upside down) are all elements to be decoded in order to get to know the artist who entitled his painting "Identity or Gauthier with H".