Champs Elysee

Guy Buffet (b. 1943, France) "Champs Elysees" (1999.) Guy Buffet has always been fascinated with restaurant waiters and sommeliers. As a child growing up in his familys restaurant he would draw on napkins and tablecloths while his brothers were busy working in the restaurant. "Champ Elysees" is an example of how the many great Parisian cafes and restaurants influenced his artwork. Numbered (322/595) and Hand-Signed Serigraph with Certificate of Authenticity. Measurements are 37" x 28" (image) and 43" x 34" (sheet.) Unframed.

Guy Buffet was born in Paris on January 13, 1943. Although his parents were in the restaurant business, they were fond of art, and Guy learned early that his neighborhood had once been the home of such artistic figures as Chagall, Matisse, Picasso, and Modigliani. “At home there was always talk about these famous painters,” he says, “and I used to listen to these conversations while doing my homework at the kitchen table. I remember drawing on napkins and the linen tablecloths while my brothers were busy with kitchen preparations.” At the age of 12 his mother gave him his first box of paints, a couple of brushes, a wooden easel and several canvases. The young Buffet's artwork was soon being displayed on the falls of the family restaurant. He sold his first painting to an American visiting France and dining in the Buffet family restaurant. By the age of 14, Guy was transferred from public school to the famed Beaux Arts de Toulon and later studied advanced painting in Paris. At 18, Guy joined the French Navy where his artistic abilities were so distinguished, he was named the official artist of the French Navy and given the prestigious assignment to "paint the world.' It was while he was on shore leave in Hawaii that he got permission to put on a one-man exhibition and the rest is history. Guy soon settled in the Hawaiian Paradise after the prominent Cooke family offered to provide him living and studio space after his Navy discharge. Soon Guy received commissions from the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts which emblazoned major murals at libraries across the state. In years since, Guy has been commissioned to paint by some of the most exclusive organizations in the world, including the Ritz Carlton Hotels and also he is the official artist for Champagne Perrier-Jouet.