Original Drawings Depicting Movie Stars, Mid 20th Century

A collection of fourteen original portrait drawings of Hollywood and French film stars.

They do vary slightly in medium but are mostly executed in charcoal on paper with some body colour or chalk highlights. Some have some watercolour and ink elements. Together, they are all of a similar colour palette and work well as a collection.

Our favourite has got to be Marlon Brando, but there are some other corkers in there too. Most are titled, some are not, so far we have identified Marlon Brando, Gary Cooper, Clarke Gable, Rita Hayworth and Ingrid Bergman on the Hollywood side and Martine Carol, Pierre Frenay, Jean Pierre Armort, Jean Marais, Jean Cherrier and Dany Robin from the French side of the pond. We believe the final three could potentially be Lucille Ball, Jene Simmons, and not sure of the final one, but definitely has a striking resemblance to Princess Margaret…

They would look great framed as a collection on a feature wall.

All by the same hand, and most are signed Petrovitch. From a few inscriptions, we have identified that the artist was Etienne Petrovitch, and his address was  5 Rue Claude Matrat, Issy-les-Molineaux, Hautes-de-Seine, on the outskirts of Paris. There is also an inscription on one that talks about a ‘regiment’. The only Etienne Petrovitch I can find of the period is Etienne Pedro Petrovitch (1909-1989), who was born in Romania and fought for the French Resistance in WWII, so it would make sense to be by his hand.

They date from the early 1950s period, circa 1951-1953. 

They are all in good vintage condition with some wear commensurate with age. Most are free from damage, but a few have small tears around the edge from handling. These could potentially be hidden with framing.

They differ in size slightly, the largest being 41cm x 32cm; the majority of the others are around 31cm x 25cm, with a couple of larger and a couple of smaller examples.

Delivery is £20 to Mainland UK. If you live elsewhere, please get in touch for an accurate quote. If you require shipping, please select this option at checkout.