oil on canvas
104.5 x 76.5 cm (41 1/8 x 30 1/8 in.)
signed lower left

PROVENANCE
Gift of the artist to the sitter; sitter's collection until 1991
Thence by descent in the family

LOT NOTES
Born in 1889 in the southern Polish city of Kielce into the family of famed historical painter Jan Styka (a student of Jan Matejko), Tadeusz Styka was, from a tender age, enveloped in the arts. Under his father’s tutelage, Tadeusz, together with his brother Adam (who likewise went on to become a painter, best known for his Orientalist portraits) began painting around the age of six. In 1900, the family relocated to Paris. Not two years later, Tadeusz — aged thirteen — had already exhibited at the Paris Salon, showing a copy of his father’s portrait of Leo Tolstoy (who later wrote to them both with thanks). By fifteen, he counted three exhibitions at the Salon.

Simultaneously, Tadeusz collaborated with his father on a series of preparatory paintings for illustrations to the novel Quo Vadis. Recognizing his son's talent as an animalist, Jan Styka eventually put Tada in charge of the animal figures. The completed series was exhibited at the St. Louis Purchase Exposition of 1904, together with five independent works by the younger Styka. Although eleven of the fifteen paintings in the cycle were destroyed in a fire at the Exposition, the father-and-son duo received laudable reviews in the American press, which was particularly enamoured with the preteen artist. In a 1905 article dedicated to the elder Styka in Hearst’s International magazine, author Annabel Parker McCann named Tada "the wonder of European artists", who seems to have been born with so remarkable a perception of art and so great facility of the hand, so sure an eye for form and color, that the years of drill which most artists must spend in learning how to achieve technical facility are needless for him.

The same attention followed Tadeusz throughout his early career and grew exponentially when he began spending time between Europe and the United States in the 1920s. By then he was largely sought after for his socialite portraits, frequently likened in style to those of Giovanni Boldini. Particularly sensationalized in the press was his portrait of and relationship with film star Pola Negri, especially when the latter became engaged with Charlie Chaplin. Famed actresses Marion Davies and Dolly Grey likewise sat for him. So did Sara Delano Roosevelt, who in 1934 — having perhaps come across Styka thanks to his recent exhibition at the Wildenstein & Co. Gallery — commissioned a portrait as a gift for her son, president Franklin D. Roosevelt, for the White House. Though the Great Depression took a toll on Styka's finances, and though his renown gradually abated, he continued appearing on the New York social scene (often accompanying heiress Huguette Clark) and receiving high-profile commissions, such as that of President Harry S. Truman.

The present painting depicts American Broadway actress Jayne Manners, née Jane Oppermann in Monticello, Georgia in 1908. In 1925, aged seventeen, the singer-actress relocated to New York, where she performed at the Shubert Theatre. Selected here are images of her billed (as "The Unpredictable" Jayne Manners) alongside the iconic Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedy duo, as well as posing beside Ray Bolger (best known for his role as Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz) during the 1942 production of "By Jupiter." It was during her early Broadway career that Manners likely met Styka, who made the numerous nude études and a painting of the young Jayne included here. The two remained in contact throughout Manners' lifetime, as evidenced by the present portrait, produced at least a decade following their acquaintance, as well as later sketches of her brother, sister, and parents. Shown here en face, her graceful hands holding the sleeve of a fur coat draped over one shoulder, Manners epitomises not only the classic "American beauty" type Styka preferred to paint, but the vitality of colors and brushstrokes for which he was so sought after in his lifetime and remembered for today.

CONDITION
Observed in frame, the painting appears in excellent original condition. Minor surface abrasions apparent in limited areas around the perimeter (lower left and right, upper right edge). Inspection under UV light shows no apparent signs of restoration. N.B. The painting is unvarnished.

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