DUCHAMP, Marcel (1887-1968) - photo 1

DUCHAMP, Marcel (1887-1968)

Lot 224
21.03.2024 13:00UTC +01:00
Classic
Sold
€ 2 520
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationFrance, Paris
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1173269
Lot 224 | DUCHAMP, Marcel (1887-1968)
Estimate value
€ 2 000 – 3 000
DUCHAMP, Marcel (1887-1968)
Lettre autographe signée à Margaret Barr, datée "Paris, [...] 21 déc. [19]36"
1 p. in-4 (253 x 210 mm), encre brune. (Lettre déchirée au niveau de la pliure latérale, trois renforts au verso, petites déchirures marginales)

Belle lettre évoquant Man Ray, la première exposition personnelle de Duchamp et l'exposition surréaliste du MoMA en 1936.

Le ton du billet reflète toute l'impertinence et le détachement de l'artiste, alors même qu'il est question d'expositions déterminantes dans sa carrière. Duchamp s'adresse en effet à l'historienne de l'art Margaret Barr (1901–1987), épouse et collaboratrice d'Alfred Barr (1902-1981), qui fut le premier directeur du Museum of Modern Art de New York. Le couple organisa en 1936 l'exposition Fantastic Art, Dada and Surrealism, à laquelle Duchamp fait référence au début de sa lettre – plusieurs de ses oeuvres y étaient exposées. Il demande également à Margaret de faire la liaison avec Man Ray, afin de récupérer à temps sa toile "Le Roi et la Reine entourés de nus vites" pour son exposition personnelle ouvrant à l'Arts Club de Chicago en février 1937.

Avec la désinvolutre qu'on lui connaît, et marquant toujours une distance avec le milieu de l'art, il félicite son interlocutrice pour son "dévouement dans la bouillabaisse en général". Il mentionne également Janice Loeb (1902-1996), réalisatrice américaine d'avant-garde avec qui il avait collaboré pour le film Anemic Cinema en 1926.

L'authenticité de cette œuvre a été confirmée par l'Association Marcel Duchamp.

Marcel Duchamp mentions Man Ray and writes about his current exhibitions: the 1936 MoMA exhibition Fantastic Art, Dada and Surrealism and his upcoming first solo exhibition at Chicago's Arts Club in 1937. The recipient of the letter is the art historian Margaret Barr, wife of Alfred Barr, who was the first director of the MoMA.
Auction house category:Letters, documents and manuscripts
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