🗽The Lady of the Lake

“This naked woman, seemingly emerging from the water and wrapping herself in a sheet, is called “the sportswoman”; it is the work of Georges Halbout known as “Halbout du Tanney”, born in the 19th arrondissement of Paris on December 15, 1895 and died in Bourdeilles (Dordogne) on June 7, 1986.

In 1963, Camille Méline, mayor of the city, wanted, during the inauguration of the casino, reopened that year, to obtain a work of art “to decorate the establishment’s park”. Christian Poncelet, then a very young deputy, will take steps with the Ministry of Fine Arts, with André Malraux, Minister of Cultural Affairs.

The young MP will be present on June 23, 1964 for the establishment of “La Sportive”. This statue of a woman, “in the simplest device, with a mass of 1,800 kg”, evokes “feminine grace” we could read in the local press of the time. On deposit since June 19, 1964 at the town hall of Gérardmer, this work was purchased by order from the artist in 1951. It is therefore a deposit of State works of art. »

Extract from Vosges Matin Daily News, June 2021.

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