Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Lhote, André
| title | Gabriel Frizeau letters received : Bordeaux, from André Lhote and Ary Leblond, Paris, 1908-1929. | repository | The Getty Research Institute |
| description | Two sets of letters written to Frizeau by his Paris agents contain art world news and often detailed descriptions of works of art. Lhote and Leblond had opposing aesthetic orientations and their views often clash (on cubism, for instance). The letters convey the almost complete cultural isolation of Bordeaux at the turn of the century. The 82 letters from Lhote focus on the Paris art market, theoretical concerns and Lhote’s writings on art, interspersed with personal matters. In letters from 1908-09, Lhote sends assessments of works as financial investments; recommends works by Rouault, Matisse, Girieud and Bernard; provides sketches of paintings (Gauguin for example); discusses his relationship as an artist and a buyer with dealers (a theme throughout his letters); discusses his own roots in primitive/Realist tradition; describes and comments on the Salon d’automne. In letters from 1910-12, Lhote writes of paintings for sale; recommends Emile Antoine Bourdelle, among others; chronicles his theoretical explorations and stylistic developments as he comes in contact with different styles (a theme in his letters through 1920); reveals his attitude toward nature and the intellectual in art; describes his own exhibition in Stockholm. In letters from 1913-14, Lhote describes paintings, the poverty of artists and the low prices he is able to get through his friendships; recommends Chagall; writes of Cubism; acknowledges the importance of Frizeau’s opinion of his work; and touches on experiences in the war. During 1915-19 Lhote writes of the value of art as an investment; provides sketches of Gauguin’s works for sale; recommends Maurice de Vlaminck and Cézanne; writes about Cubism; and discusses potential sale of forgeries in Frizeau’s collection. In 1920-29 Lhote comments on the Salon d’automne; discusses the sale of a fake Courbet; recommends Jacques Lipchitz; and discusses contemporary journals and art criticism. A folder of undated letters includes comments on Girieud, Robert Lotiron, Cézanne, art dealers, Cubism, his own work and the criticism of Jacques Emile Blanche. The 86 letters from Ary Leblond describe current market conditions; the role of art dealers in driving up prices; the arduous negotiations with Jos Hessel over the sale of Gauguin’s work. In great detail he describes paintings he recommends to Frizeau and occasionally includes sketches. He writes of the need to acquire more Redons from Mme Redon while she still has them and is willing to sell. He writes of the Redon retrospective she organized at the Galerie Barbazanges; describes the Salon d’automne (which he calls "cubificiel"), and the Salon des jeunes; writes of American buyers driving up auction prices; and discusses the sale of Redons to the Chicago Museum of Art. He frequently mentions the work of Jules Flandrin, André Derain, Georges-Léon Dufrenoy, Robert Lotiron and Maurice de Vlaminck. He appreciates Matisse, considers Chagall plebeian, finds Rouault’s imagination mediocre, and derides Cubism. He conveys art world and literary news, and describes Lhote’s bitterness and merit as an art critic. |
| extent | 168 letters. |
| formats | Correspondence Financial Records Sketches |
| access | Open for use by qualified researchers. |
| record link | http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cat354430 |
| record source | http://library.getty.edu/vwebv/searchBasic |
| finding aid | Dealer’s inventory available in the repository. |
| updated | 03/16/2023 10:29:48 |
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| title | André Lhote letters and manuscript, 1918-1955. | repository | The Getty Research Institute |
| description | Collection of letters addressed to various persons related to Lhote’s activities. Among the topics are his contributions to the Salon d’automne (1919) and to the Indépendants (1920), work in progress, his trips to Spain and articles written by him as well as by others about his paintings and writings. In two letters to Elie Richard, the artist speaks about the reorientation of his own painting style and expresses admiration for Cubist painting (1920). He informs an unnamed friend that he has proposed her name as a potential new director of the Galerie Granoff (1927). In another letter he recommends an enclosed article by Pierre Marois to be published in Arts (n.d.) Two letters to Georges de Laprade grant him permission to reproduce any of Lhote’s articles in Beaux Arts, and protest an "injuste" review of his book, Parlons Peinture, published in that periodical (1937). The second letter is typed on the back of a printed announcement of the Exposition d’Artistes de Montparnasse (May 20 - June 4) with a presentation signed by him. In a letter of 1951 also to Laprade (?) he is grateful for the words of appreciation published in Arts about "cet artiste double que je suis - et que haïssent les uns parce qu’il écrit, et les autres parce qu’il peint." At Dezarrois’ inquiry about his Academy, Lhote replies that currently there are more talented women than men, naming Anne Willette and Aline Corbin as the best of all (1952). Other correspondents include Gustave Coquiot (1918), Louis Vauxcelles (1919), Pierre Abraham (1935), Marius Richard (1936) and Georges Armand Masson (1954-1955). In chronological order. The manuscript is part of a letter from August 29, 1932, addressed "Cher Monsieur." Lhote apologizes for the delay of his answer, which he is scribbling in a hurry because he is working on a book about pictorial technique. The text contains five paragraphs (numbered 1 to 5), each about a critical issue of the French modern art, written in a polemical style. 1. The artists have divorced the people, who satisfy their needs with cinema and illustrated magazines. 2-3. The ornament in architecture was eliminated by the "mystique du béton armé" of Adolf Loos and his disciples. 4. The nudisme ("retour au Paganisme"), repressed by Puritanism, is finally coming back, and the landscape will also be back when a big painter discovers a modern formula. 5. Art must not be useful. "Qui dit art utile dit niaiserie." The text has many alterations; it is signed in full. The manuscript might be complimentary to a text already delivered. Lhote ends the letter with the suggestion that the galleys be sent to him at Poste Restante Toulon. Signed again with initial. |
| extent | 29 items. |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | Open for use by qualified researchers. |
| record link | http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cat76690 |
| record source | http://library.getty.edu/vwebv/searchBasic |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:48 |
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