Rene Gruau auction at Christies

Famous British auction house, Christies, will be selling off some of the most beautiful drawings

from revered 20th Century illustrator, Rene Gruau, on Wednesday. The illustrator is well known for his close friendship with Christian Dior and for whom he created many an incisive sketch during the fifties and sixties.

"One of the most famous fashion illustrators of the Fifties and Sixties, Rene Gruau's long career continued in to the Eighties," says head of Christie's 20th Century Decorative Art and Design Joy McCall, of Gruau's significance. "He utilised the power of line and block colour with masterly control."

McCall continues, "Through creating an effortless world of high glamour that timelessly resonates today, Gruau's work remains a source of inspiration to contemporary designers," she tells us. "His work has become increasingly popular at auction and the lots offered in Christie's London sale of 20th Century Decorative Art & Design on 20 April illustrate the diversity of his talents in a 12 year period between 1953 and 1965."

This comes after the British Fashion Council organised a successful retrospective of the hugely talented illustrator at Somerset House last year.