E.A. Seguy was born and raised in Paris. He was a designer and an artist active who was active during the first 3 decades of the 20th century. Not very much is known about him, even his actual birth/death dates and name are in dispute. Regardless of this and speculation surrounding his life, the much that’s known about him was found in the design folios he left behind. He produced 11 albums of patterns and nature themed illustrations, drawing inspiration from, foliage, flowers, animals, crystals and papillons and other insects. He was among the few artists that successfully combined both Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles in his work. Seguy’s brightly colored geometric patterns were aimed at being used as inspiration for textiles, wallpaper and such decorative items.
Seguy’s albums were reproduced by Dover Publications in a book about Butterflies and Insects in Full Color. His aim was to avail dozens of examples of exceedingly colorful exotic animals that had been neglected unjustly by decorative artists relating to the countries of the Occident because of their rarity in illustration and in life. Seguy was confident that butterflies would be accepted readily, so he made the special plea for the other insects that were entitled to the same consideration because they were constructed like wonderful machines. Many viewers have admired his aesthetic design bright and bold colors. His art is mainly found in the collection of The Walter Havighurst Special Collections, but they are also available in many other leading collections.
