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Art, Architecture, and Design
page, 8.25 x 10.5, La Colline letterhead, January 19, 1971. Handwritten letter to David Giladi, in part: “I received your letter with an article about me. I thank you with deep emotions…I understand your feeling and your heart’s intention for Jewish issues—but you need to direct and reach the whole world. If I reached something of it—as you say—how can I not be satisfied…These days, it turns out I was, and still am, close to my parents.” In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope. Starting Bid $200
401. Louis Daguerre Autograph Letter Signed. French artist and photog-
rapher (1787-1851) recognized for his invention of the daguerreotype process of photography. ALS in French, signed “Daguerre,” one page, 5.25 x 7.75, Diorama letterhead, February 11, 1828. Untranslated handwritten letter by Daguerre. In fine condition. Daguerre had invented the diorama, a method of projecting images with light, in 1822, and became quite successful in this pre-cinematic system of animating images. In the same year, Daguerre opened the Diorama theater in Paris to entertain the population by showing an animated landscape. Starting Bid $300
402. Edgar Degas Autograph Letter Signed. Impor-
tant French painter and sculptor (1834–1917) regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism. ALS in French, signed “Degas,” one page, 5 x 3, 1892. Handwritten letter to “Madame Manet,” his fellow painter Berthe Morisot, who was married to Eugène Manet, the brother of her friend and colleague Edouard Manet. In fine condition. Starting Bid $300
404. Hubert de Givenchy Signed Sketch. Original signed felt tip
and pastel sketch accomplished by Hubert de Givenchy on a white 5 x 8.5 sheet, showing one of his most famous evening ensembles—black velvet trousers and brocaded jacket with multi-colored paisley pattern—signed in the lower left corner in black felt tip, “Givenchy.” In very fine condition. This Givenchy-designed ensemble was exhibited in the 2015 retrospective of his work in Madrid, Spain, and depicted in the official exhibition catalog; includes color copies of several images of the outfit as exhibited. Starting Bid $200
Desperate for money, Gauguin turns to friends for help: “I can’t make a deal without talking to Van Gogh, who keeps the prices higher”
403. Paul Gauguin Autograph Letter Signed. ALS in
French, signed “P. G.,” two pages on two adjoining sheets, 4 x 6, no date but circa 1889. Handwritten letter to painter, art teacher, and collector Emile Schuffenecker, in part (translated): “2 words in a hurry…. I have, it is true, more than need of money at the moment, but I have credit. I cannot accept the press, feeling obliged with a knife at my throat, it would be a deplorable example! Besides that, I can’t make a deal without talking to Van Gogh, who keeps the prices higher.” He discusses the difficulty of making profitable deals in the present art market (“I therefore write to him for a deal of (200 Francs less commission less frame is equal to almost zero) he will have to deal that with him”) and mentions that he cannot fulfill a request as he does not have 40 francs (“What a nightmare to be held back by trifles every time it comes to work”). In fine condition. A painter, art teacher, and collector—most notably one of Van Gogh’s earliest collectors—Emile Schuffenecker was one of Gauguin’s closest friends, and an outspoken supporter of his artistic career. He was also responsible for proposing the important 1889 exhibition at the Volpini Gallery, which became a key moment in Gauguin’s career, expanding his influence on young painters. In late 1887 or early 1888, Gauguin traded his canvas ‘On the Shore of the Lake, Martinique’ to Vincent Van Gogh in exchange for two small paintings of sunflowers that the great Dutchman had completed the previous summer. Gauguin hung them above his bed when he lived in Paris on Rue Boulard with Emile Schuffenecker, and they remained there during his voyages in the South Seas. Desperate for money by 1896, Gauguin decided to finally part with these prized possessions; they were ultimately purchased by the art dealer Ambroise Vollard for 225 francs a piece. Today, one of the canvases resides in the collection of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. A rare and significant association piece connecting several important artistic figures of the Post-Impressionist movement. Starting Bid $2500
Monet on his movement: “You seem to singularly stick to this title of ‘impressionist,’ which does not mean much and has made people tell so much nonsense”
405. Claude Monet Autograph Letter Signed. ALS
in French, two pages both sides, 5.25 x 8, April 8, 1906. Handwritten letter from his Giverny gardens to the painter Michel-Auguste Colle, with a critical comment on the use and overuse of the word ‘Impressionism.’ In full (translated): “I have perfectly received your two letters but, being very busy, have been unable to reply sooner. The matter about which you ask me is quite serious and delicate. I surely do not want to refuse, and only pray you to tell me beforehand when you would like to come for, if I should be at work, it would impossible for me to receive you. I would therefore have to decide the day and time…P.S. You seem to singularly stick to this title of ‘impressionist’, which does not mean much and has made people tell so much nonsense.” In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope, addressed in Monet’s hand. The first Impressionist exhibition took place in April and May of 1874, led by Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, and Berthe Morisot. Many critics did not take the show seriously, but it was well-attended by the public—many of whom showed up to witness and ridicule this ‘insult’ to the art world. Inspired by Monet’s painting ‘Impression, soleil levant,’ art critic Louis Leroy entitled his derisive review ‘Exhibition of Impressionists,’ satirizing and mocking the show. But instead of discrediting their work, he established their identity—one that Monet evidently took issue with.
This letter reflects in a remarkable way what Monet himself thought about the word ‘Impressionist’ more than thirty years after it was first used. More than one century later, the term is still widely used in spite of Monet’s rejection. This unique letter bears witness in a most striking manner to the discrepancy between the way in which the history of one of the most important artistic movements has been written and the vision held by its leading member. Starting Bid $500
10.25 x 14 limitation page for the Pablo Picasso illustrated book ‘Le Carmen des Carmen, 1949/1960,’ one page, 7.25 x 10.75, published in 1964 by Éditions Français Réunis of Paris, limited issue, numbered XVI/XXX, signed boldly at the conclusion in dark red crayon by cubist painter Pablo Picasso, “Picasso,” and countersigned in ballpoint by surrealist poet Louis Aragon, “Aragon.” In fine condition. Starting Bid $200
407. Pablo Picasso Signed Envelope. Hand-addressed and signed mailing envelope, 5.75 x 4.5, addressed by Picasso to “Madame Ines Sassier, 7 R. des Grands Augustins, Paris 6e As.,” and signed as part of the return address on the flap: “Envoi Picasso— Mougins, A.M.” Postmarked at Cannes in 1962. In very good to fine condition, with light overall creasing. Picasso met Ines Sassier while vacationing in Mougins in 1936 and, delighted by her charm, promptly welcomed both her and her sister to his domestic staff. She remained Picasso’s close friend, advisor, cook, and confidante for more than three decades. Picasso lived and worked in the grand mansion at 7 Rue des Grands Augustins from 1936 and 1955, and eventually retired to his hilltop estate in Mougins, called Mas de Notre Dame de Vie, in 1961. Starting Bid $200
408. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Autograph Letter
Signed. Important French painter and printmaker (1864-1901) whose lively, colorful portrayals of the people and places of finde-siècle Paris take a place among the most iconic images of the era. Toulouse-Lautrec’s immersion in art stemmed largely from his isolation following a disfiguring teenage accident that failed to heal properly, preventing his legs from growing further while his torso continued to develop normally. ALS in French, four pages on two adjoining sheets, 4.25 x 6.75, no date. Untranslated handwritten letter to his mother, signed at the conclusion in English, “Your boy, Harry,” at the end of the postscript with his initial, “H.” In fine condition. Toulouse-Lautrec first began to exhibit his paintings in a Montmartre cabaret in 1884. Described by the contemporary critic Gustave Geffroy as ‘the quintessential chronicler of Paris,’ Toulouse-Lautrec enjoyed critical acclaim and his work was sought after by collectors. The painter was particularly close to his mother, Adèle Tapié de Celeyran, who had long supported his artistic ambitions and was a frequent correspondent. By 1893, he was crippled by alcoholism and moved in with his mother while being spurned by other family members for his drunken behavior and the subjects of his paintings. In 1899, she abruptly left Paris, which prompted him to suffer a mental collapse and he was committed to a sanatorium. Starting Bid $500
409. Andy Warhol Signed Book with Sketch.
Signed book: The Philosophy of Andy Warhol. First Harbrace Paperbound Library edition. NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977. Paperback, 4.25 x 7.25, 241 pages. Signed and inscribed on the half-title page in black felt tip, “To Mary, Andy Warhol,” who adds a small sketch of a woman’s lips. In very good to fine condition, with heavy wear and creasing to the covers; interior pages are all fine. Accompanied by a full letter of authenticity from JSA. Starting Bid $300
410. Andy Warhol Signed Postcard of ‘Marilyn Mon-
roe’. Very desirable color semi-glossy 4 x 5.75 postcard of Andy Warhol’s 1962 quadriptych ‘Marilyn Monroe,’ which shows four images of the blonde starlet smiling against a blue background, signed nicely in the lower border in black felt tip by Warhol. In very fine condition.Accompanied by a letter of provenance from the original recipient, who obtained the autograph at a New York City book signing. Starting Bid $200 411. Andy Warhol Signed Postcard. Color 4 x 6 post-
card of Warhol’s iconic ‘Elvis 1’ artwork, signed in the lower border in black felt tip, “Andy Warhol.” In fine condition, with the usual haloing to the signature due to the ink commonly used by Warhol. Starting Bid $200
