GAUGUIN, Paul (1848-1903). Autograph letter signed ("Paul Gauguin") TO AMBROISE VOLLARD, [Tahiti], August 1900. 1 pages, 4to, folds neatly strengthened from verso , otherwise fine, in French. Quarter green morocco gilt folding protective case, full morocco internal folding case, gilt-lettered on upper cover, white silk lining. ON STATIONARY DECORATED BY GAUGUIN WITH A RARE ORIGINAL WOODCUT, "En-tte de Lettre," (Vignette for a Letterhead With Two Birds) printed in black, 68:106mm, , with "PG" monogram in lower enclosure. Mongan, Kornfeld, Joachim, Paul Gauguin Catalog Raisonnee of His Prints , 75, listing only seven known impressions (including the present example). GAUGUIN REQUESTS PAINTS AND CANVAS FROM TAHITI; WITH A FINE IMPRESSION OF A RARE WOODCUT One of a very small number of letters which Gauguin chose to decorate with an original woodcut vignette; this is the first example to be offered at auction in many years and the vignette is well-printed (in some examples the border and birds are not printed). In this letter, the ailing, debt-plagued artist complains to Vollard: "...I did not write to you last month since I did not get a letter from you which caused me considerable inconvenience since every month, little by little I pay off my arrears ... Last month I wrote you that I did not receive your shipment of canvases and paints which was wrong, but I did not receive the notice and the bill of landing until 5 days after the departure of the steamer. You see how convenient Tahiti is!! Your paint tubes are very small for the solid paintings you want ... On the other hand, the canvas seems to be very good; we will see better when I have tried them and after they have dried ... I have received your letter with 300 Frs. Too bad you forgot to write me last month since this caused me considerable inconvenience." He concludes with the concern that "you did not receive the paintings and engravings which I had sent through the good offices of a colonial who was going to France. They must have been lost and when will we find them again, if we find them? In time for the World's Fair would be favorable." In 1900, Gauguin had deserted the dealer, Chaudet, and accepted a proposition of the famous patron, dealer and collector, Ambroise Vollard, who offered Gauguin a pension of 300 francs a month in return for twenty-five canvases a year. Thinking this would relieve his pressing financial difficulties, Gauguin accepted, but as it turned out the arrangement was far from perfect. Vollard, oblivious of Gauguin's poverty and ill-health, was absent-minded with his payments; while waiting, Gauguin sometimes had to subsist on water and boiled rice until the monthly mail arrived again. He died three years after this letter was written. Published in John Rewald, ed., Gauguin Letters to Vollard , Los Angeles: Grabhorn Press, 1943, p.38 (using the vignette from this letter for titlepage and cover illustration).
GAUGUIN, Paul (1848-1903). Autograph letter signed ("Paul Gauguin") TO AMBROISE VOLLARD, [Tahiti], August 1900. 1 pages, 4to, folds neatly strengthened from verso , otherwise fine, in French. Quarter green morocco gilt folding protective case, full morocco internal folding case, gilt-lettered on upper cover, white silk lining. ON STATIONARY DECORATED BY GAUGUIN WITH A RARE ORIGINAL WOODCUT, "En-tte de Lettre," (Vignette for a Letterhead With Two Birds) printed in black, 68:106mm, , with "PG" monogram in lower enclosure. Mongan, Kornfeld, Joachim, Paul Gauguin Catalog Raisonnee of His Prints , 75, listing only seven known impressions (including the present example). GAUGUIN REQUESTS PAINTS AND CANVAS FROM TAHITI; WITH A FINE IMPRESSION OF A RARE WOODCUT One of a very small number of letters which Gauguin chose to decorate with an original woodcut vignette; this is the first example to be offered at auction in many years and the vignette is well-printed (in some examples the border and birds are not printed). In this letter, the ailing, debt-plagued artist complains to Vollard: "...I did not write to you last month since I did not get a letter from you which caused me considerable inconvenience since every month, little by little I pay off my arrears ... Last month I wrote you that I did not receive your shipment of canvases and paints which was wrong, but I did not receive the notice and the bill of landing until 5 days after the departure of the steamer. You see how convenient Tahiti is!! Your paint tubes are very small for the solid paintings you want ... On the other hand, the canvas seems to be very good; we will see better when I have tried them and after they have dried ... I have received your letter with 300 Frs. Too bad you forgot to write me last month since this caused me considerable inconvenience." He concludes with the concern that "you did not receive the paintings and engravings which I had sent through the good offices of a colonial who was going to France. They must have been lost and when will we find them again, if we find them? In time for the World's Fair would be favorable." In 1900, Gauguin had deserted the dealer, Chaudet, and accepted a proposition of the famous patron, dealer and collector, Ambroise Vollard, who offered Gauguin a pension of 300 francs a month in return for twenty-five canvases a year. Thinking this would relieve his pressing financial difficulties, Gauguin accepted, but as it turned out the arrangement was far from perfect. Vollard, oblivious of Gauguin's poverty and ill-health, was absent-minded with his payments; while waiting, Gauguin sometimes had to subsist on water and boiled rice until the monthly mail arrived again. He died three years after this letter was written. Published in John Rewald, ed., Gauguin Letters to Vollard , Los Angeles: Grabhorn Press, 1943, p.38 (using the vignette from this letter for titlepage and cover illustration).
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
