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historical notes
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Étienne Bignou (1891-1950) first worked for his stepfather, an art dealer on rue Lafitte, selling Old Master paintings. After World War I, his interests turned to Boudin and Fantin-Latour and he became an important promoter of the Impressionists, especially in England.
In 1927 he opened his own gallery in Paris. He was Raoul Dufy’s first dealer and served as an agent for the American collectors Dr. Barnes and Chester Dale. With Gaston and Josse Bernheim Jeune, Bignou bought the Parisian auction house Galerie Georges Petit and hired Georges Keller to direct it in 1929. Following the closure of the Galerie Georges Petit in 1932, Keller entered into partnership with Bignou and together they ran the Galerie Étienne Bignou, Paris.
Keller became director of the New York branch of Bignou Gallery in about 1935. Étienne Bignou died in 1950 and by 1953 Keller had closed Bignou Gallery and was director of Carstairs Gallery, New York.
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