Marie LAURENCIN - Set of 5 signed autograph letters.

Marie LAURENCIN (1883.1956)

Set of 5 autograph letters signed to Count François de Gouy d'Arcy

Eight pages in-4° and one page in-12° (with an autograph envelope).

Paris. Ste Marie au Bosc. Bagnoles-de-l’Orne. 1931

Very nice friendly correspondence

1/ “Dear François, eight days ago I was told what you told me in your letter and I felt that you were going to write to me.  Our old friendship-love is what remains to us , especially at this moment when stupidity surpasses everything and is the strongest. I ended up completely installing my magnificent airedale dimah in my life, hence emotion-love-serious troubles. She became a guard dog and had a nervous pregnancy. I see few people. Tomorrow the Jouhandeaus will become more and more savage and persecuted. The daughter of Sir Joseph Daveen is getting married and has asked for a wedding gift from Marie Laurencin. Every week I go to Champrosay – I love cutting the grass and running the mower. Now François darling, here is the holiday schedule: end of July two or three days in August short stay with the Gossets. On the 5th departure for the Bagnoles cure with my next little Suzanne, and the first half of September I will be at the disposal of those who want me , with or without Suzanne, with or without a dog. I kiss you, my Francis, and Russell, your Mary, to you. Otto is in Paris – he comes to Champrosay – always charming. »

2/ “Dear François, I came to see you, a little earlier perhaps, I am leaving again – and kiss you very affectionately. Your old fiancée Marie. »

3/ “My dear François, How kind of you to have thought of me and this lovely gift multiplying by twelve. I had a very unpleasant kind of knee pain and two days without moving from my bed. To recover boldly, I took the path to Normandy, the land of Caux. The sea – the wind – and also an adorable stay with Monsieur Gosset. It's curious how this humid air becomes invigorating, and then below there is the sea, England opposite, we are well surrounded. I'm still in bed, lying – thinking about my friends . I have just written to Violette and you, my dear François. Maybe we don't see each other often but what does that mean – Violette's words are unforgettable and you are, like my dear Otto, the friends of my dream . I kiss you tenderly my François, and also Russell. Your husband. »

4/“My François, I gave your letter to read to Otto who promised to write to you. At the moment he lives in Paris with a young friend from Bremen, and very plastered, which goes together. I continue to believe in the blue era on my own – I call it variations on the Princess of Cleves. Right now we're leaving by car for the Gosset family near Étretat. I will return Monday evening and Wednesday August 5 to Bagnoles de l'Orne. Here is my address (…) I'm going there with my next and that way I avoid the Grand-Hôtel where I was so bored, and above all she will make me a cup of coffee herself and it's a joy. But why don't you come to Bagnoles? Comfort – blood circulation. Finally, write to me François. I don't care about Bérard's painting, but it has a certain charm, especially with Boris. I embrace you affectionately, my old friends. Your husband. The other evening, dinner with the Jouhandeaus. Speak about yourself. Carija, I love it. She has a lot of intuition and predicts communism without fanfare – Farewell Variations. Write me, even a little note so that we are always in communication (Your Marie). »

5/ “My dear François, Here I am in Bagnoles. I had a serious liver attack, migraine, etc. at the Gosset house. and here I get more treatment for that than for my skittles. I still have pain in my side. Serene mood. It's raining. I watch the rain fall. I sew. I believe that Marie's career will end in pajamas for all of you, extraordinary hand-sewn. Mr. Paul Rosenberg and his family are traveling in the north of Europe – hispano nouvelle – fortunately they will finish in the south. I'm staying here François until August 30. Write me. Yesterday while walking I looked at a lovely little house. The ordinary building from 1820, but leaning against the wall between windows and door – four cypresses. Person. A big-eared dog who was afraid of a piece of wood. The charm – the reverie – the sweet silence of this residence. To you, to Russell, your Marie. I received your telegram. »

François de Gouy d'Arsy (1883.1941), an aristocrat without a profession, had a life of leisure which he shared with the American painter Russell Greeley (1878-1956) during the first half of the twentieth century. Together, they lived in Paris on rue de Condé, in Piquey on the Arcachon basin, and at the Château de Clavary in Auribeau-sur-Siagne near Grasse where Pablo Picasso painted his portrait in 1925.