Breton (André) drafts of publications and letters

Box 1

André Breton drafts of publications and letters, 1948-1965

Item 1

G. Kamrowsky, [1950]

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). The text is a draft of a preface written for an exhibition dedicated to the American artist Gerome Kamrowski (1914-2004) at the Galerie Creuze in Paris from 6 to 21 January 1950. Draft in blue ink with numerous words crossed out. Lot 2251. See Œuvres complètes, IV, 624-627 and https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100477070.

Item 2

Hector Hyppolite, 1948 October 6

Scope and Content Note

3 sheets (3 pages). In this text, Breton gives an account of the exhibition of the Haitian artist Hector Hyppolite (1894-1948), which was held in Port-au-Prince in Haiti in December 1945. Draft in blue ink with numerous words crossed out. Signed. Dated. Lot 2288. See: https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100366270.

Item 3

Aparté, 1949 February

Scope and Content Note

8 sheets (8 pages). The manuscript and typescript draft co-written by André Breton, Elisa Claro Breton, and Benjamin Péret are dedicated to the Canadian painter Jean-Paul Riopelle (1923-2001). Draft with numerous words crossed out. Lot 2302.

Item 4

Exp. Max Ernst [i.e. Exposition Max Ernst], 1950 January 5

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). The manuscript is a draft of the presentation given by André Breton for an exhibition on Max Ernst (1891-1976) held at the gallery La Hune in Paris. Draft in blue ink with numerous words crossed out. Signed. Dated. Lot 2316.

Item 5

Miguel G. Vivancos, 1950 April 6

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). The manuscript on the Spanish painter Miguel Garcia Vivancos (1895-1972) was written for an exhibition held in April 1950. Draft in green ink with numerous words crossed out. Lot 2319. See Œuvres complètes , IV, 708-709 and https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100130710.

Item 6

Mes amis Seigle, 1950 December 19

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). The manuscript is a draft for a preface by André Breton written for an exhibition on Henri and No Seigle at the Galerie Creuse in Paris in 1951. Draft in black ink with numerous words crossed out. Signed. Dated. Lot 2327. See Œuvres complètes, IV, 634-635, 1331 and https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100203450.

Item 7

[Text for the opening of the gallery À l'étoile scellée in Paris], 1952 November 28

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). In this text, which appeared anonymously in Arts, Breton mentions Roberto Fernandez Retamar, Wolfgang Paalen, Man Ray, Clovis Trouille, Jean Arp, Balthus, Victor Brauner, Max Ernst, Joan Miró, and Marie Cerminova (Toyen). Draft in black ink with numerous words crossed out. Signed. Dated. Lot 2350. See Œuvres complètes, III, 1080-1081, 1459-1460 and https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100428280.

Item 8

Hantaï, 1952 December 28

Scope and Content Note

2 sheets (1 page). This text in which Breton discusses the Hungarian artist Simon Hantaï (1922-) on the occasion of an exhibition held at the gallery À l'étoile scellée, appeared in January 1953 in Medium. The manuscript consists of one sheet and one folded sheet to be inserted at the end of the text on the first sheet. Draft in black ink with numerous words crossed out. Lot 2353. See Œuvres complètes, IV, 637, 1331-1333 and https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100582480.

Item 9

L'Art des fous, la clé des champs, Fall 1948

Scope and Content Note

4 sheets (4 pages). The manuscript is a draft of "L'Art des fous, la clé des champs," which is considered one of Breton's fundamental texts on art. The text appeared in late 1948 in Les Cahiers de la Pléiade and again in Le Surréalisme et la peinture, where it was illustrated by Aloïse (Aloïse Corbaz) and Adolf Wölfli. Draft in blue ink. Signed. Lot 2372. See Œuvres complètes, IV, 726-731, 1358-1359 and https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100974830.

Item 10

Draft of letter by André Breton to Max Walter Svanberg, 1954 May 18

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (2 pages). The letter refers to prints and drawings that Walter sent Breton. Draft in black ink with corrections in pink ink. Signed. Dated. Lot 2383

Item 11

Le regard de Judit Reigl, 1954 October 31

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). The text is a draft for a preface of the catalog for an exhibition on the Hungarian artist Judit Reigl (1923-2020) at the gallery À l'étoile scellée in Paris. The text appeared again in Le Surréalisme et la peinture in 1965. Draft in black ink with numerous words crossed out. Lot 2384. See Œuvres complètes, IV, 639, 1333 and https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100410470.

Item 12

Hector Hyppolite, [1954]

Scope and Content Note

4 sheets (4 pages). Draft in blue ink with the date "1954" in pencil on the first sheet. Signed. Lot 2390.

Item 13

L'épée dans les nuages, 1955 January 23

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). Draft in black ink on À l'étoile scellée letterhead with numerous words crossed out. Signed. Dated. Lot 2397.

Item 14

Hommage à Max Walter S.; La femme du viking, 1954 February 12 and 1955 March 6

Scope and Content Note

3 sheets (3 pages), 3 sheets (3 pages). Drafts in black ink with numerous words crossed out. Signed. Dated. Lot 2398. See: https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100546780.

Item 15

Duvillier au tramail, 1955 May 18

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). The text on the painter René Duvillier (1919-2002) served as a preface for the pamphlet of the exhibition Duvillier, le cheval de mer océan at the gallery À l'étoile scellée in Paris in June 1955. The text appeared again in Le Surréalisme et la peinture in 1965. Draft with numerous words crossed out in blue ink on green paper. Signed. Dated. Lot 2402. See: Œuvres complètes, IV, 760-761, 1364 and https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100182270.

Item 16

Marcelle Loubchansky, 1956 January 25

Scope and Content Note

3 sheets (3 pages). The manuscript is a draft of the preface for the catalog of the exhibition dedicated to the painter Marcelle Loubchansky (1917-1988) and held at the Galerie Kléber in Paris in January 1956. The text appeared again in Le Surréalisme et la peinture in 1965. Draft in black ink with numerous words crossed out. Signed. Dated. Lot 2421. See: https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100222610.

Item 17

[Aloys Zötl], 1956 March 21

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). The manuscript is a draft of the text on the Austrian painter and printmaker Aloys Zötl (1803-1887), which served as the preface for the auction catalog of the sale of watercolors of Zötl held at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris on 1956 May 3. Draft in black with numerous words crossed out. Signed. Dated. Lot 2425. See: https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100138910.

Item 18

Endre Roszda, 1957 February 10

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). The text was written for an exhibition on the Hungarian artist organized by Simone Colinet at the Galerie Furstenberg in Paris in February 1957. Draft in black ink with numerous words crossed out. Signed. Dated. Lot 2439. See: https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100835370.

Item 19

Yahne Le Toumelin, 1957 October 16

Scope and Content Note

2 sheets (2 pages). The text is a draft for the preface of the catalog for the exhibition dedicated to the French painter Yahne Le Toumelin (1923- ) held at the Galerie d'Orsay in Paris in November 1957. The text appeared again in Le Surréalisme et la peinture in 1965. Draft in black ink with numerous words crossed out. Lot 2448. See Œuvres complètes , IV, 653-657, 1337-1338 and https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100294920.

Item 20

Préface-manifeste, 1958 March 25

Scope and Content Note

3 sheets (3 pages). The text was written on the occasion of the exhibition Dessins symbolistes, which was organized by Breton at the Bateau-Lavoir in Paris in March 1958. The draft is in black ink with numerous words crossed out. One sheet in red and blue ink presents a chronological frieze from 1844 to 1944, which lists artists. Lot 2457. See Œuvres complètes , IV, 777-784, 1369-1371 and https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100750990.

item 21

Yves Laloy, 1958 September 14

Scope and Content Note

2 sheets (2 pages). Upon receipt of the archive, the manuscript was filed in the folder for lot 2457 which consists of the manuscript "Préface-manifeste," which is also dated 1958. It formerly appeared in Breton's personal copy of Yves Laloy (Lot 219) at the 2003 sale. See: https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600101000300.

item 22

Cárdenas, 1959 February 11

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). The text was written on the occasion of the exhibition dedicated to the Cuban sculptor Augustín Cárdenas (1927-2001) at the Galerie La Cour d'Ingres in Paris in February-March 1959. Draft in black ink with numerous words crossed out. Signed. Dated. Lot 2465. See Œuvres complètes, IV, 738-739, 1360-1361 and https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100197840.

item 23

Les surréalistes à Don C. Talayesva, [1959]

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). The manuscript does not bear a signature and the date in pencil was presumably added later. It was filed in the folder from Calmels-Cohen along with the manuscript on Cárdenas. The draft is in blue ink on blue paper. See Œuvres complètes, IV, 1095.

item 24

Maréchal, 1960 October 7

Scope and Content Note

3 sheets (3 pages). The three manuscripts are different versions of a biography of the poet and painter Jacques Le Maréchal (1928-2016). The drafts in blue ink were written on D'Arcy Galleries, New York, letterhead paper. Lot 2487.

Item 25

Nous ne l'entendons pas de cette oreille, 1960 December 6

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). The text relates an incident at a D'Arcy Galleries exhibition in New York, which involved Salvador Dalì. Draft in black ink with numerous words crossed out. Signed. Dated. Lot 2489.

Item 26

Hommage, 1961 September 5

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). The text was written on the occasion of the exhibition dedicated to René Magritte at the Obelisk Gallery in London in 1961. Draft in black ink on salmon-colored paper with numerous words crossed out. Signed. Dated. Lot 2497. See Œuvres complètes, IV, 673-676, 1343-1344 and https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100062700.

Item 27

La peinture se repeuple, [circa 1961]

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). The manuscript written by André Breton on the verso of an invitation card is a copy of the text by Michel Butor, La peinture se repeuple , which refers to René Magritte's work La Condition humaine. Lot 2497. See: https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600101000415.

Item 28

Albagnac, 1961 December 7

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). The text is a draft for a preface to a catalog on the work of the French printmaker Jean-Marie Albagnac (1931-). The draft is in black ink with numerous words crossed out. Lot 2499. See: https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100239050.

Item 29

Main première, 1962 October 5-10

Scope and Content Note

3 sheets (3 pages). The text is a draft of the preface to the book by Karel Kupka, Dawn of Art: Painting and Sculpture of Australian Aborigines . The text was also issued in the journal La Brèche, n°4, February 1963, pages 32-35. Draft in blue ink with numerous words crossed out. Signed. Dated. One sheet consists of two portions of sheets glued together. Lot 2508. See: https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100641980.

Item 30

Enrico Baj, 1963 February 10

Scope and Content Note

3 sheets (3 pages), 6 leaves (5 pages). The two texts both titled "Enrico Baj" are drafts for a preface written for an exhibition held in 1964. One is a manuscript drafted in blue ink with numerous words crossed out and whose first page consists of two sheets glued together. The second is a typescript of 6 leaves which is dated 1963 February. Included is an obituary clipping "Enrico Baj" by Harry Bellet ( Le Monde, 19 juin 2003). Lot 2512. See: https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100204960.

Item 31

Hommage à J.-H. Moesman, 1963 March 31

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). On the same sheet is a text dedicated to Jim Dine and dated 8 April 1963. Lot 2514. See: https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100508350.

Item 32

Brousse au-devant de Camacho, 1964 April 11

Scope and Content Note

2 sheets (2 pages). The text is a draft of a preface for an exhibition dedicated to the Cuban painter Jorge Camacho (1934-2011) at the Galerie Mathias Fels in Paris from 8 to 31 May 1964. The text appeared again in Le Surréalisme et la peinture in 1965. The draft is on letterhead of La Dragonne, Galerie Nina Dausset and has numerous words crossed out. Signed. Dated. Lot 2520. See Œuvres complètes, IV, 834-837, 1387-1389 and https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100626200.

Item 33

[Remedios Varo], 1964 November 22

Scope and Content Note

2 sheets (2 pages). The two sheets are drafts of a text on the Spanish artist Remedios Varo (1908-1963) that appeared in the journal La Brèche no. 7, December 1964. One sheet is dated and bears the initials "A.B." The second sheet is undated and bears the initials "A.B." The drafts have numerous words crossed out. Lot 2523. See https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100657780.

Item 34

[Text related to Fabio de Sanctis and Ugo Sterpini], 1964 December 3

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). The draft is a text written on the occasion of the exhibition dedicated to the architect Fabio de Sanctis and the painter Ugo Sterpini at the Galleria Pogliani in Rome. It begins with the lines "Nous en restions à cette exquise fantaisie en prose..." Draft in black ink with numerous words crossed out. Signed. Dated. Lot 2524. See: https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100276860.

Item 35

Konrad Klapheck, 1965 February 7

Scope and Content Note

2 sheets (2 pages). The text is a draft for the preface to the brochure for the exhibition at the Galerie Ileana Sonabend in Paris. Draft in black ink with numerous words crossed out. Signed. Dated. Included is the exhibition brochure. Lot 2526. See: https://www.andrebreton.fr/work/56600100232510.

Item 36

Letter by André Breton in response to a literary inquiry, 1965 April 4

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (2 pages). Breton explains which literary works he considers to be the most important in France and in the world. Lot 2528.

Item 37

Letter by André Breton in response to an inquiry relating to artists, 1965 June 4

Scope and Content Note

1 sheet (1 page). Breton lists the ten artists that he considers to be the most authentic for the past 20 years: Pierre Alchinsky (Belgium); Enrico Baj (Italy); Jean Degottex (France); Alberto Gironella (Mexico); Konrad Klapheck (Germany); Robert Rauschenberg (USA); Max Walter Svanberg (Sweden); and Henri Télémaque (Haiti). Included are four facsimiles. Lot 2528.

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