Henry Cheffer

Henri-Lucien Cheffer (30 December 1880, Paris – 3 May 1957) was a French painter, engraver and illustrator. Cheffer was chiefly known for his postage stamp designs, the first of which he designed in 1911. He also designed bank notes for French Algeria, Tunisia, the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies.

Early life Cheffer was born in 1880 in Paris. He studied at the School of Decorative Arts, Paris, and in the studio of Léon Bonnat.

Awards He received the second prize for engraving in the Grand Prix de Rome in 1904 and 1906.

Work

Paintings Cheffer was a member of the Société des Artistes Français, where he exhibited exclusively. During the First World War, Cheffer produced many watercolors depicting scenes of battle and destruction.

Postage stamp designs Cheffer was responsible for 384 stamp designs, 52 of which were for France.

In 1955, he designed a set of stamps depicting Monaco's Prince Rainier III.

Cheffer's series of French postage stamps, known as the Marianne de Cheffer series, was in circulation from 1967 to 1971.

Collections US National Library of Medicine Library of Congress, Washington Wellcome Collection, London Imperial War Museums, London Museum of Fine Arts Boston