Lot 120

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Description:

Marc Chagall TLS His Famous Work: " I am happy that 'Listening to the Rooster' was reproduced in the color book" Magnificent!

A 1p typed letter in French signed by modern artist Marc Chagall (1887-1985) as "Marc Chagall" at lower right. Written in Vence, France on July 27, 1956 on a single leaf of stationery with "'Les Collines' / Vence / (A.M.)" [trans: "'The Hills' / Vence A[lpes] M[aritimes]"] letterhead. One word in the penultimate sentence has been corrected by hand. Expected wear including minor paper folds and a few wrinkles. Several isolated closed tears and chips along the side edges, else very good to near fine. 8.25" x 10.625."

Chagall wrote this letter to his friend Adolphe Juviler, a devoted collector of modern art whose collection included several works by Chagall, including Chagall's large oil on canvas "En Écoutant le Coq [trans: "Listening to the Rooster"], (1944).

Translated in full, with punctuation silently added to improve clarity:

"July 27, 1956

Dear friend,

I find your letter upon returning from a trip to Amsterdam, where we were invited. And you tell me that you leave directly for New York without passing through Vence…

I was very happy to see your charming boy; but we were very saddened to learn that your wife has been sick.

I regret not being able to meet up with both of you. I would certainly like to talk with you both, who for a long time have been such faithful friends to me.

I would have also liked that you be able to see diverse exhibitions of mine that are going to take place in Europe: in Basel, in Bern, in Amsterdam and in Brussels.

I don't know if the organizers contacted you regarding the loan of pictures, but I would be pleased if some of yours were there. I am happy that "Listening to the Rooster" was reproduced in the color book prepared by Skira.

Maybe I will have the luck to come to America one day, at least if you do not come here before then, and then we will see each other again.

From time to time a letter from you would bring me pleasure, though I know how you are busy.

My wife joins me in wishing good health to Kiki, and to give you our best wishes.

I embrace you as well as yours.

[signed] Marc Chagall."

In the letter, Chagall refers to one of his most colorful and dramatic works, "Listening to the Rooster" (1944). The oil on canvas depicting a rooster laying an egg, an upturned pine tree, a crescent moon, and the heads of two lovers overlaid on the body of a pig has been interpreted as symbolizing the imminent collapse of Nazism. After Adolphe Juviler had acquired "Listening to the Rooster," he had lent the painting to New York City's Museum of Modern Art for inclusion in its Marc Chagall retrospective held ten years earlier, in the spring of 1946. "Listening to the Rooster" was included among the forty color plates found in Lionello Venturi's "Chagall," (Geneva, Switzerland: Éditions d'Art Skira, 1956.) See the attached image of "Listening to the Rooster" included for reference.

Chagall remarked that his work would be featured in multiple European venues in 1956-1957. These included Chagall exhibitions at the Kunsthalle at Bern, Switzerland, "Oeuvres de 1950 à 1956"; at the Kunsthalle at Basel, Switzerland, "Oeuvres des 25 dernières années"; at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Belgium; and at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. One of Chagall's featured works from these 1956-1957 exhibitions was "Le Grand Cirque" [trans: "The Big Circus"], a monumental oil and gouache on canvas depicting circus performers.

Very little information can be found about Chagall's correspondent, Adolphe Juviler. He was French-speaking, and possibly a naturalized citizen of the United States. Juviler served as the chairman of the Olympic Radio and Television Inc., of Long Island City, and was also the president of International Resistance Company, a manufacturer of resistors, key components of early televisions. Juviler channeled his business acumen into art collecting.

Juviler's art collection was described by "Time" Magazine in 1961 as "a choice, if uneven, selection of modern paintings, sculpture, and drawings" which included works by Marc Chagall, Pierre Bonnard, and Chaim Soutine. In the fall of 1961, Juviler and his wife decided to thin out his art collection. The prestigious Manhattan auction house Parke-Bernet Galleries handled the sale of 39 works of art, garnering over $1 million in sales, and enabling the wealthy couple from New York and Palm Beach to devote more time to travel.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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