About the artist:

From the a piece in the New Yorker from October 28th, 1944: "Eugene La Foret, the only artist in town who paints in full view of the public in his own store, in which he sells his creations, usually hot off the easel. He owns and runs the Studio Store, on the west side of Lexington Avenue, just below 57th. At the time of our interview he was painting a country lane with a barn in the background, which, he said a man had ordered for Saturday. "One dollar down and nine on delivery," he said. A woman came in and asked if her still life was ready. It was and she paid two fifty for it. His oils range in price from two dollars for miniature still lifes to five hundred for more ambitious canvases. Mr. La Foret received his training in Europe: Berlin, Paris and Munich."