$34,365
Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954) Tete de Femme, 1942 Inscribed, signed and dated "A Monsieur Marcel Z. Méraud/Cordialement/Henri Matisse 17...42" in pencil l.l. Ink and graphite on paper, sheet size 8 1/8 x 5 in. (20.6 x 12.7 cm), framed. Condition: Taped to silk covered mat at four corners verso, acid burn to corners, deckled edges. Provenance: Daniel Sickles, Paris, France; Hans Peter Kraus, New York; Estate of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (née Braman) Grasso, Essex, Connecticut. Literature: [Collection Daniel Sickles] Bibliothèque d'un Amateur, Très Beaux Livres Illustrés Modernes Dans d'Importantes Reliures dont 53 Signées de Pierre Legrain, Exemplaires uniques dont Les Fleurs du Mal Illustrées par Rouault, Deuxieme partie , Paris: Musée Galliéra, 21 May 1963 (no. 265); Kraus, H.P., The Illustrated Book , Catalogue 108, no. 138, 1964. N.B. We wish to thank Wanda de Guebriant of the Archives Matisse for her kind assistance with cataloguing the lot. The work is no. K296 in the Archives Matisse and a photo-certificate accompanies the lot. The work was one of eight original drawings included in a presentation copy of Souvenirs d'un marchand de tableaux by Ambroise Vollard, published by Éditions Albin Michel in 1937, which was pen inscribed and gifted to his chauffeur Marcel Z. Méraud. In a letter from the Archive Matisse dated February 16, 1942, Meraud shares his enthusiasm for the gift from Vollard, and requests a work from Matisse to add to the book. He writes: "Mr
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2009-09-11
