The Tonkinese painter LE PHO exhibits his works in South America.

THE PHO (1907-2001)

Signed autograph letter.

Two pages in-8° on letterhead from the Albert I Hotel ⁱⁿ Algiers.

Alger . May 20, 1949

“I do not plan to exhibit my works this year in France because I already have commitments in South America. »

Very rare letter from the Tonkinese painter, traveling in the Orient, organizing the sale and exhibitions of his paintings.

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“Dear Sir, I apologize for making you wait for my response to your letter of May 4. I have been traveling continuously since the beginning of the month. I thank you very much for thinking of me, and am very flattered to have works among your collection.

I don't plan to exhibit my works this year in France because I already have commitments in South America. If you would like to see my few remaining recent works, I would ask you to come and have a cup of tea at my house around the middle of next month. I will call you as soon as I return to Paris. Believe, dear Sir, in my distinguished and grateful greetings. The Pho. »

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A major artist of the 20th century, Le Pho joined the École des Beaux-Arts d'Indochina in 1915 and, in the first promotion of the establishment, followed the courses of Victor Tardieu and Joseph Inguimberty until 1930. Present at the Colonial Exhibition of 1931 in Paris alongside Victor Tardieu, the Vietnamese painter made several trips to France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy during which he discovered Western painting which would have a lasting impact on his artistic approach.

After a decisive trip to Beijing in 1934, his style, strongly influenced by the Chinese pictorial tradition, asserted itself. In 1937, on the strength of his international discoveries, the artist finally settled in Paris. This multicultural richness is intrinsically linked to the work of Le Pho who, seduced by the art of the Renaissance and the Primitives, produces a work combining Asian artistic tradition, plastic innovations and Western heritage.