Alexandre DUMAS Fils was swindled in the sale of his DELACROIX painting.

Alexandre Dumas fils (1824.1895)

Autographed letter signed.

Two pages in-12° on paper bearing his monogram.

Paris. Undated.

"I am filing a complaint against Mr.^Delaroche who stole 3000 francs from me on the Delacroix."

Alexandre Dumas fils is furious at having been ripped off on the sale of his Delacroix masterpiece.

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“Dear friend, I am filing a complaint against Mr.^Delaroche who stole 3000 francs from me on the Delacroix.Would it be disagreeable for Khalil Bey to make the receipt available to me and accompany it with a statement from him in which he would say that it was in my name that Mr. Delaroche insisted absolutely on the price of 18000 francs and that it was because he received nothing from these 18000 francs that he was given a commission by Khalil Bey.”

All this is very annoying, but what's even more annoying is being robbed. Princes like Khalil Bey are more used to it than we are, but that's only a good reason for them. My apologies, and to you. A. Dumas fils.

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In 1824, Eugène Delacroix painted Tasso in the prison of the mad.

Initially acquired by Alexandre Dumas père, the painting left the family collection before being bought back several years later by his son, a fervent admirer of the painter. In March 1865, the latter decided to part with it and enlisted the help of Delaroche, a highly influential Parisian art dealer at the time. Delaroche negotiated the painting for 14,000 francs and immediately resold it—under dubious circumstances and with a double commission—to Khalil-Bey, a wealthy Ottoman diplomat and compulsive collector living in Paris, for 18,000 francs. The painting then entered one of the most prestigious and scandalous private galleries in the capital.

However, the story takes a turn for the worse and in January 1868, ruined by his gambling debts, Khalil-Bey is forced to disperse his entire collection at auction and sells Delacroix's masterpiece to a new owner for 16,500 francs.