Lydia Corbett

Lydia Corbett

In the 1950s, Lydia Corbett was introduced to Pablo Picasso at Vallauris on the French Riviera. At this time, Picasso was breaking-up with his wife Francois Gilot, and Lydia’s presence brought a new and positive phase to his work. She became the model for a series of forty works of art. She was known then as Sylvette David, but changed her name during this period. The ‘Heads of Sylvette’ a series of moulded metal sculptures which Picasso worked on through this time, introduced a new major innovation in this work.

In 1968, Lydia decided to move to England and gave all her creative energy to painting. She has been exhibiting ever since and has had numerous shows in London, Europe and Japan. The Anthony Petullo Foundation, one of the most influential collections in America, has a collection of Lydia’s watercolours. In 1993 the Tate Gallery staged a major exhibition of Picasso’s sculpture and paintings. A documentary film on Lydia, and her friend and mentor, was shown on BBC2 at the same time.

Lydia’s beautiful paintings in both oil and watercolour sparkle and take on many subjects. Her fluid lines bring new life to these familiar themes, infusing them with warmth and sunlight. Her ‘assured and gentle approach to the human figure’, as one critic put it, recalls the work of Marc Chagall.

Her pictures are highly distinctive and immediately recognisable. She is very much an international painter and has many fans in the UK and abroad.


The Blue Moon
Oil on Board, with Sgraffito
19.5 x 16 Inches
£3200

A Mother’s Cuddle
Oil on Board with Sgraffito
36 x 18 Inches
£4900

Sylvette with a Fan Hat
Acrylic on Board
18 x 24 Inches
£3900

Two Vases on Red Background
Oil on Board
19 x 13 Inches
£2500

The Blue Sylvette
Oil on Board with Sgraffito
19 x 16 Inches
£3200

Meditation
Oil on Canvas
40 x 32 Inches
£9000

Sylvette Reading
Oil on Board
30 x 24 Inches
£6200

Sylvette in the Moonlight
Oil on Board
36 x 24 Inches
£7500

Queen and King
Oil on Board
32 x 25 Inches
£6900

Sylvette in Vallauris
Oil on Board
32 x 23.5 Inches
£7000

Camaret Courtyard
Oil on Board
23 x 21 Inches
£3900

The Starling
Oil on Board
12 x 12 Inches
£1700

White Still Life
Oil on Board
21.5 x 25.5 Inches
£6000

Two Children
Oil on Board
23 x 19.5 Inches
£6000

Children, Cat and Bird
Acrylic on Board
20 x 16 Inches
£3500

Le Paradis Perdu
Oil on Canvas
29.9 x 23.5 Inches
£6200

The Robin
Oil on Board
12 x 9 Inches
£1700

Song of the Blackbird
Oil on Board
16 x 12 Inches
£1700

The Magpie in the Wood
Oil on Board
16 x 12 Inches
£1700

Young Woman with Fish Dress
Watercolour with Indian Ink
20 x 16 Inches
£2750

The Courtly Lovers
Watercolour with Indian Ink and Gold
19.5 x 16 Inches
£2750

Sylvette, Looking Forward
Oil on Board
20 x 16 Inches
£3200

Sylvette in Gold
Oil on Board
21 x 21 Inches

Sylvette with a Parrot
Oil on Board
36 x 27.5 Inches

Reclining Nude
Oil on Board
17 x 24 Inches

The Place of Wellbeing
Oil on Canvas
24 x 31.5 Inches

Sylvette, La Boudeuse
White Ground Indian Inks on Board
16 x 12 Inches

Picasso as a Young Man
Oil on Board
16 x 12 Inches

Sylvette in Profile
Ink on Watercolour Paper with Gold
9.5 x 8 Inches

Prayer for Peace
Watercolour with Indian Ink
16 x 19.5 Inches

The Assisi Cat
Watercolour with Indian Ink
16 x 19.5 Inches

Family with Horses
Red and Black Inks
16 x 12 Inches

Acrobats
Watercolour with Indian Ink
13.5 x 10 Inches

Adam & Eve and the Snake
Oil on Board
16 x 12 Inches

Meditation on Life
Oil on Board
10 x 12.5 Inches

Nude Through the Window Seguret
Watercolour and Indian Ink
16 x 19.5 Inches

Christ’s Mother
Watercolour
10 x 8 Inches

Spirit of Love
Watercolour
10 x 8 Inches

Mother and Child’s Caress
Watercolour
10 x 8 Inches

Mary and Jesus
Watercolour
10 x 7 Inches

The Halo
Oil on Canvas
27 x 20 inches

Sylvette and the Sunflowers
Oil
29 x 40 inches