| description | The collection comprises thirty-seven letters written by eight artists to the art dealer Fleiss, answering his quest for original works from the Dada period. The correspondents are Serge Charchoune, Dunoyer de Segonzac, Leonor Fini, Félix Labisse, E.L.T. Mesens, Roland Penrose, Ribemont-Dessaignes and Christian Schad. These artists, now in the final stage of their careers, have little or nothing left to sell from that remote period of their beginnings. They also cannot offer information to Fleiss about other collectors, because they are no longer in touch with the old time Dada enthusiasts. The most successful, such as Serge Charchoune and Christian Schad, have already retained their Dada creations for various exhibitions in this revival period. When they agree to sell, the prices are high and they do not agree to bargain: "Je ne crois pas que les objets d’art sont des merchandises," writes Schad. Those who have works by other painters in their collections would hardly sell them. Mesens agrees to sell some collages by Magritte of 1927-28, but: "lorsque l’on ne possède de Man Ray que Love Fingers (1916) et Seguidilla (1919), l’on n’est pas vendeur de MAN RAY!" The artists authenticate photographs of their own works found by Fleiss on the market, and sometimes let him know that they are copies or fakes. The fifteen letters from Schad and eight from Charchoune are also psychologically revealing. |
