Marc Chagall LS Re: Upcoming NYC Exhibit of "my sculptures, ceramics, and the Fables of Lafontaine [sic]"

A 2pp letter in French signed by modern artist Marc Chagall (1887-1985) as "Marc Chagall" on the second page near lower right. Written in the hand of Chagall's second wife, Valentina "Vava" Brodsky Chagall (ca. 1905-1993), in Vence, France on August 11, 1952 on a single leaf of stationery with "'Les Collines' / Vence / (A.M.)" [trans: "'The Hills' / Vence A[lpes] M[aritimes]"] letterhead. Expected wear including minor paper folds and a few wrinkles, else near fine. 8.325" x 10.75." Accompanied by its original transmittal envelope inscribed by Vava recto, and signed by her as "Marc Chagall" on the return address panel verso. With a cancelled French stamp, postmarked, and letter-opened at left.

Chagall signed this letter addressed to his friends Mr. and Mrs. Adolphe Juviler. Juviler was a devoted collector of modern art whose collection included works by Chagall himself. In the letter, Chagall confirmed that an upcoming exhibition of some of his prints and three-dimensional art would take place that fall in New York City.

Translated in part, with errors of spelling or punctuation silently corrected:

"11.8.52

Dear friend,

I was very pleased to have news of you, but also very saddened to learn that you have been sick. I am certain that the Evian cure will do you a lot of good…

How sad is it that you don't come down to the Midi [a region in southern France]. I will hope very much to see you, because I don't believe that I will go to Paris in September. But if by chance I will be, my daughter Ida [Ida Chagall (1916-1994)] will know it; telephone her.

Yes, Curt Valentin [Bucholz] is going to display my sculptures, ceramics, and the Fables de La Fontaine, in the autumn.

Thank you from all my heart for your good wishes. Best wishes to your wife. How is she?! -

Very sincerely

[signed] Marc Chagall

Address of Ida:

Mme Meyer
22, Place Dauphine
Paris
Odéon 4068."

By that fall, Chagall did indeed exhibit examples of his ceramics, sculpture, and etchings depicting scenes from stories written by the seventeenth-century French fabulist Jean de La Fontaine. Chagall's artwork was on view between November 18 - December 13, 1952 at the Curt Valentin Gallery at 32 East 57 Street in New York City. Valentin was a German-Jewish art dealer who had established the Bucholz Gallery in New York City in 1937, obtaining special permission from the Nazis to purchase modern German artwork classified as degenerate. Though the Curt Valentin Gallery only remained open between 1951-1954, it exhibited the artwork of big modern artists like Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Marino Marini, André Masson, and Henry Moore.

Chagall's longtime partner Virginia Haggard McNeil left him for a Belgian photographer in April 1952, after the couple spent seven years together and had a child, David, in 1946. Chagall married his second wife Vava within three months of Virginia's departure. Before serving as Chagall's secretary, Vava was a milliner in London. She was of Russian-Jewish ancestry like Chagall. The two remained married--after a brief divorce which secured more favorable terms for Vava--until Chagall's death. Chagall lived in Vence and in nearby Saint-Paul-de-Vence in the Alpes-Maritimes region of southern France between circa 1948 and his death in 1985. He purchased a country home called "Les Collines" where he lived and worked well into his 90s. Fellow modern artists Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso also called this part of the Côte d'Azur home.

Very little information can be found about Chagall's correspondent, Adolphe Juviler. He was French-speaking, and possibly a naturalized citizen of the United States. Juviler served as the chairman of the Olympic Radio and Television Inc., of Long Island City, and was also the president of International Resistance Company, a manufacturer of resistors, key components of early televisions. Juviler channeled his business acumen into art collecting.

Juviler's art collection was described by "Time" Magazine in 1961 as "a choice, if uneven, selection of modern paintings, sculpture, and drawings" which included works by Marc Chagall, Pierre Bonnard, and Chaim Soutine. In the fall of 1961, Juviler and his wife decided to thin out his art collection. The prestigious Manhattan auction house Parke-Bernet Galleries handled the sale of 39 works of art, garnering over $1 million in sales, and enabling the wealthy couple from New York and Palm Beach to devote more time to travel.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!