DUFY Raoul (1877-1953)

Lot 9
Go to lot
Estimation :
3000 - 4000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 1 950EUR
DUFY Raoul (1877-1953)
13 L.A.S. " Raoul Dufy " or " Raoul ", 1936-1951 and s.d., to Marcelle OURY; 21 pages in-4 or in-8 (some small cracks in the folds). Beautiful friendly correspondence. [Marcelle OURY (1894-1970), journalist and art critic, mother of Gérard Oury, was a friend of painters, including Raoul Dufy, to whom she dedicated a beautiful book: Lettre à mon peintre Raoul Dufy (Librairie académique Perrin, 1965)]. Paris, March 2 [1936?] He worked like a slave on his London exhibition, on his "studies made last summer with the speed of a film operator. [...] So I am working on my racecourses and my regattas and it is starting to work well. It is one of the most thankless jobs I have ever done. [...] Paris is not in celebration at the moment, everything is rather difficult and yet it seems to me that nothing is too desperate. Come back soon my little mascot"... Nice May 2, 1940. Affectionate letter, about the health of his wife Emilienne, in a nursing home in Grasse. He went back to work. "What are our plans? I am thinking of coming to Paris in about a month, and taking advantage of my stay to see some classical shows at the French Theatre to make you these watercolor theater scenes. He mentions the possibility of building a collection for a rich businessman in Argentina. He expresses his affection for "my little Marcelle whom I admire for all her courage and all sorts of other things," as well as his "great Gérard." Perpignan February 25, 1946. 1 p. in-4. Dufy thanks his friend for the gift of Universal [a watch]: "Until now I have paid little attention to the time and to watches in general, but from now on I take it seriously... - April 16. "Thank you for your very kind note that your swallow brought me. I am sending it back to you with this little note under its wing loaded with all my memories and my affectionate friendship"... - June 13. He hopes that his health will improve, before his dear Marcelle comes. "Then you will be able to rest from all the work that your overflowing activity will have imposed on you. In a month we will have our little talks again, full of the stories you will bring back. May the sky light up a little for me"... - August 20. He asks her to give money to his Swiss lawyer: "I did not hesitate to ask you this service because you are a love for me as I am for you. How happy you must have been to find on your arrival in Cannes with the children, your mother and these flowers and all these words of love to welcome you. I think of my little paintings which are the object and the witnesses of all this happiness. My health is not too bad but I am so impatient for a very big improvement. I am still pampered like a child. I am back to work. From all sides I have such testimonies of interest in my work that I am comforted by it, it helps me to bear my miseries"... Tucson (Arizona) May 25, 1951. He is worried about the health of Berthe [his nurse Berthe Reysz], who is hospitalized. Don't worry about me," he says, "we have brought a French maid with us who is perfect, and since I move around much more easily, I'm fine. He thinks he will return to France at the end of June... [Boston]. His health is improving, but he must continue treatment before returning to France. "My business here is going well, it's quite different from France. Everything that is sold in Paris comes here with dollar prices, but we have to make sure that the market is flooded with Dufy, it is not yet the case. [...] I am now walking with canes, I have the impression that I have left for a new series of better days"... Saint-Denis s/Sarthon (Orne). Seized with a flu, he had to change his plans. "If you want to show your young Egyptian some very good things of mine, you have to go to Mazaraki's [...] I have some engravings to finish and then I will go to Paris"... - He finishes "some big works late. I haven't looked up from my work for two months. I will have finished in 4 or 5 days and it will be a great relief for me. I will finally be able to make paintings that are less cumbersome and more saleable. For three years I have been doing large compositions, covering hundreds of square meters, and although exciting, these works are expensive because of the trouble and expense they require, they tire and ruin "... He rejoices in Gerard's success... Tuesday. He appreciates "this forget-me-not barrow loaded with roses and embellished with a gold border, an arabesque of glitter and a greenery of real asparagus. But what I appreciate above all through these splendors is your kind thought which is for me the most beautiful invisible flower in your good year bouquet. [I would give a lot to spend a moment with you in your High Alps; here I would give a beautiful watercolor, the most beautiful I have, a beautiful painting and a beautiful blue and white enamelled vase. Alas I am tied up here, my work, my works and
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue