Jacques Maloubier was my best art friend for about three years until he died. One of the last things he told me was that he hoped we would have more time to paint together. I had hoped for that too. Here are some of the things I remember that made him special to me.
He was a young athlete when the Germans invaded France in World War II. At one time he was captured by the Germans and sentenced to death but ultimately got a reprieve.
After the war he studied art in Paris at the Ecole de Beaux Arts. He studied with Orthon Frieze, who was George Braques painting partner as a young man. Together, Bracques and Frieze participated in a flash of art history called Fauvism. These were the first painters to use really strong color in a painting, the most noted of the group being Matisse. Jacques was too young to be a member of this group that collaborated in the early 1900's and studied with Frieze after WWII.
Jacques was very adept at drawing which he seemed to do effortlessly. He learned his coloration from, at least in part, Orthon Frieze. And at the time of his studies many schools of art were active in Paris, including Fauvism and Cubism. And impressionism was still embraced by the hobbyists. Jacques saw and met such notables as Matisse, Leger, Francois Gilot, Bracques, but he only saw Picasso. He lived in Paris at a time when much of the art our culture reveres was created and had some close contact with the artists that created it. All of those influences are clearly visible in his work.
I remember that he traveled around the world by teaching art on cruise ships and spoke three languages fluently. It was there that he met his wife Jenny. They had two children, Jacques junior and Robert.
I don't remember when he went to New York City but he did and lived there for forty six years. He survived on his art and did murals around the city. Ultimately a home became available in North Carolina through Jenny's family and they moved to Souther Pines, NC.
Eagar to get involved Jacques joined a local art group in Raleigh, NC called the Visual Arts Association. They are a grass roots art organization sensitive to the needs of their members across generations. Jacques was drawn to a show they were having called the Salon de Refuser. Like its French predecessor, the rules required that work shown had to have been rejected from another show and never shown in any other show. It was in that show, or soon after, that I first saw a Maloubier. It was a unique and exciting image and I bought it. I asked that he contact me when the money was paid to him and soon I got a very interesting phone call en francais. We soon became good friends and the rest is art history.
Jacques was an artist for his entire life. He brought his talents to the table and many lives have been enriched as a result. These web pages will be maintained in his memory and so that the viewer can enjoy the fruits of his labor.
If you are a family member or close friend of Jacque and have something to add please send me an email and I will revise the story.SMoore
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