French painter and printmaker (1883-1956). 7 autograph letters signed. [Paris]. 12mo and 8vo. Together 19 pp. on 5 bifolia and 2 single sheets. With 6 autograph envelopes.
$ 5,198 / 4.500 €
(83070/BN54504)
Amicable letters to the French writer Roger Nimier (1925-1962) about her flat, health issues, reading, and work. - While she struggles to find a flat, a project involving the writer Maurice Garçon (1889-1967), an opposing party claims she is not even French. She encloses a photograph showing herself with the writers Anna de Noailles (1876-1933) and Colette (1873-1954): "Donc plaidoirie de M. Maurice Garçon pour l'appartement. La partie adverse a trouvé que c'était par malice que je voulais rentrer chez moi et encore plus absurde - que je n'étais pas française! Voici une jolie photo [...]" (7 July 1952).
- Still trying to resolve the matter of the flat, she is required to prove that she has lived at Rue Masseran since 1944. She hopes to obtain a certificate of residence and concludes with words of admiration for the journalist and art critic André Parinaud (1924-2006) and the writer Marcel Jouhandeau (1888-1979): "Votre Marie a le cou serré toujours pour l'appartement. Je dois prouver que j'habite depuis 44 7 rue Masseran [...] Gaston doit me faire une lettre certificat de domicile pour ainsi dire. Bon l'interview Parinaud dans Arts m'a impressionnée. J'ai peur de Jouhandeau maintenant et surtout de Parinaud [...]" (24 Oct. 1952). - Suffering from bronchitis, still waiting for her flat, but glad to be remembered by some as an "old Favourite" (a term describing the mistresses of the French kings), she offers to create portraits for a book on the "favourites": "Couchée depuis cinq semaines - Bronchite [...] Quand aurai-je ce sacré appartement [...] Une consolation - pour certains je suis encore une vieille Favorite [...] C'est joli ce que vous écrivez sur les Favorites. On devrait faire un livre à nous deux moi leurs portraits [...]" (26 Dec. 1952). - About a recently discovered letter that she had not received from her friend, the writer André Gide (1869-1951), further about his quirks that caused her to break with him, and on her disappointment at finding that all articles in the Nouvelle Revue Française discuss painting; also accusing the writer Henry de Montherlant (1895-1972) of having the "taste of a swine": "Jean Lambert [Gide's son-in-law] a retrouvé une lettre d'André Gide qui m'était adressée et pas envoyée, une lettre qui ferait battre montagnes en tout bien tout honneur naturellement nous fûmes très amis. C'est moi qui m'en allai la première. André Gide avait d'autres dadas que je ne pouvais accepter [...] Reçu la Nouvelle NRF. Déception - ils parlent tous peinture - même Montherland avec son goût de cochon [...]" (3 Jan. 1953). - Having read a text by Paul Léautaud (1872-1956) in the journal "La Parisienne", Laurencin considers him the only writer capable of making her tremble not with apprehension but with understanding. She compliments André Parinaud on an interview in the same journal: "Je pensais Paul Léautaud est le seul écrivain qui me fasse tressaillir pas d'espérance mais de compréhension [...] Bravo pour André Parinaud et son interview sur Céline" (14 Jan. 1953). - About a novella she has read countless times, feeling less and less capable of providing illustrations for the same, suggesting he use some of the drawings she gave him earlier: "J'ai lu et relu la nouvelle et me suis sentie de plus en plus incapable de l'illustrer [...] pourquoi ne vous serviriez-pas des dessins que je vous ai donnés. Dans mon idée ils sont mieux que ce que je vous ferai maintenant [...]" (11 April 1955). - About her stay in the Swiss town Montreux, which benefits her health, about enjoying lakeside walks, taking the bus to the city centre, and drinking hot chocolate: "Séjour à Montreux excellent pour la santé [...] promenades sur le lac et surtout l'autobus dans Montreux [...] et des tasses de chocolat [...]" (undated). With embossed address. - One letter with a small marginal tear; otherwise an extremely well-preserved set..
French painter and printmaker (1883-1956). 28 autograph letters signed. Paris. 8vo (170 x 210 mm) and 4to (210 x 270 mm), altogether 48 pp. A mixture of papers, mostly on 8vo green letterhead with the initials ML.
$ 7,508 / 6.500 €
(91317/BN60349)
A collection of letters from one of France's notable female artists of the earlier 20th century to a Parisian educator of young women regarding a proposed art project. - In September 1936, Marie Laurencin met Marie-Thérèse Évrard, director of the Lycée Camille-Sée, and the two quickly became friends and began discussions about a project for a fresco in the school. The Lycée in question was a new institution, inaugurated in 1935, and was dedicated to the education of young women, taking its name from Camille Sée, author of the political reforms that had opened higher education to women under the Third Republic.
The project intrigued Laurencin as an opportunity to use a new and larger medium: "Jusqu’ici, je n’ai fait que ce qu’on appelle de la peinture de chevalet et les grandes surfaces me sont inconnues", and while recognising the challenges the work would pose, she accepted on the basis of Évrard's trust in her abilities: "je sais combien vous tenez à moi et la foi soulève des montagnes". - Aside from the physical challenges, the work faced financial difficulties, with the Académie des Beaux-Arts offering an insufficient sum for its completion, and its director, Georges Huisman, proving distant ("Aucune nouvelle de Monsieur Huisman [...] Vous aviez raison, c'est mieux de tèléphoner"). In negotiating with the Académie, Laurencin felt at a disadvantage because of her gender: "Ce que c’est d’être une femme. Je n’ose vraiment pas demander cinquante mille francs". Although Laurencin sought inspiration from various sources, telling Évrard of children she had seen and painted, and of consulting painters of other schools, she ultimately became convinced the project was unrealisable. - In spite of this, the correspondence is a testimony to a deepening friendship, with Laurencin's style becoming more affectionate over the months, addressing Évrard as "Ma chère amie" and signing "Votre Marie" or sometimes "Votre Laurencine" [sic], often with a flourish underneath. She writes from her summer travels and extends wishes for a good New Year 1938. The final letter is from May 1939 and is on white letterheaded notepaper bearing the monograph M. L. and the motto "J'aime le luxe". - A testimony to friendship between two women collaborating between the fields of art and education..
sold
Eigenh. Brief mit U. („Marie“) und ganzseitiger Handzeichnung.
Autograph ist nicht mehr verfügbar
Marie Laurencin (1885–1956), French painter. Autograph letter signed („Marie“), including a full-page hand drawing. [Paris], n. d. 3 pp. on double leaf. Small 8vo. – To one Paule: „Merci de toutes vos gentillesses. J’ai l’impression d’aller mieux. Les rhumes on ne peut voir tomber la neige sans que la gorge vous fricotte. Suzanne a eu une bonne crise foie sincerite couchée avec bouillotte. Elle est si semblable à un enfant que ce (2) matin elle trottine dans la maison – comme si de rien n’était. Bien affectueusement à vous deux, mes chers Paule et Freddo, votre Marie – […] on tous doit beaucoup de sous“. – On the adjoining page, Laurencin has added a full page crayon and pencil sketch of a woman in an elaborate headdress. Scattered toning and soiling, otherwise fine condition.