Etienne Ret, French (1900 - 1989)

  Born in France, Etienne (Perret) Ret studied art in Paris at the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs, under Maurice Denis and G. Desvaileres. He first exhibited his original paintings, etchings and lithographs with the Societe des Independants, in Paris, and throughout France. Ret moved to the United States shortly before the outbreak of World War II and initially settled in San Antonio, Texas. He resided there during the 1940’s and established his reputation as a leading artist. Ret was also a member of the San Antonio Art League and taught painting and printmaking techniques at the San Antonio Museum. Stephanie dates from this period of his career. Around 1950 Etienne Ret moved to Los Angeles where he continued to show his art in major national exhibitions.

Ret’s art centered primarily upon figure studies, particularly those of children and women. Today the paintings, lithographs and etchings of Etienne Ret are included in the permanent collections of the State Museum, France, the Encyclopedia Britannica Collection, London, the Witte memorial Museum, San Antonio, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Pasadena Art Institute, San Diego Fine Arts Society and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.