Original lithograph "Le couple à l'Arbre" (Couple by a Tree) from "Chagall, Lithograph II" published by Andre Sauret, Monte Carlo, France in 1963. Printed by Mourlot, one of the most renowned fine-art printers in history. Print size: 12-1/2 x 10-1/2 inches.  Mint condition ex Phyllis Lucas Gallery collection.

Marc Chagall (1887 – 1985), was a Russian-French artist. He developed an early interest in art. After studying painting, in 1907 he left Russia for Paris, where he lived in an artist colony. While on a visit home, the outbreak of World War I trapped Chagall in Russia, and did not return to France until 1923. Chagall was forced to flee the country and Nazi persecution during World War II, leaving France in May 1941, when it was almost too late. During his asylum in the United States, Chagall became involved in set and costume design before returning to France in 1948. Ironically, it was these non-easel works that caused his artwork to become more widely recognized. Fusing his own personal, dreamlike imagery with hints of the Fauvism and Cubism, Chagall created a highly recognizable style outside that of any movement. In his later years, he experimented with new art forms and was commissioned to produce numerous large-scale works. Perhaps the most famous of these are the two enormous murals he painted in 1966 for the then new Metropolitan Opera House, entitled "The Triumph of Music" and "The Sources of Music". The murals are now considered among New York's most important treasures. They are large enough to be visible from Broadway across the plaza of Lincoln Center. Due to his long, productive life of 98 years, Chagall was the last survivor of the first-generation European modernists, outliving Joan Miró by two years.