ALS in French, signed “Picasso,” one page, 8 x 7, September 15, 1955. Handwritten letter to his friend and financial advisor Max Pellequer, in full (translated): "Here is the check that you asked me for (7,620 francs) for the Caisse d'Assurance Veilleuse de l'Eure. The cinema continues. I work. I embrace you." He pens his address at the top: "La Californie, Avenue Costebelle, Cannes, A.M." In fine condition, with some light creasing to the upper left corner, and slight trimming to the top edge. Encapsulated and graded by PSA/DNA as “MINT 9.”
Max Pellequer was a French banker who co-founded and later directed the Banque Nationale du Commerce et de l'Industrie. Over several decades, Pellequer's astute financial advice and shrewd stewardship of Picasso's sprawling assets enabled the artist to become a millionaire. Much of Picasso's correspondence with Pellequer includes financial content like this one, discussing an insurance payment.
Picasso's statements about his work and the continuing progress of a film project almost certainly relate to the production of 'Le Mystère Picasso' ['The Mystery of Picasso'] (1956). This was a French-language documentary about Picasso directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, who also wrote, co-starred in, and produced the film. The pair had first discussed a possible collaboration in 1952, but the project did not begin in earnest until 1955. Originally intended to be a 10-minute-long short, Clouzot eventually filmed 75 minutes showing Picasso working on various pieces, from simple drawings to more involved collages and oil paintings. Clouzot used unconventional filming techniques—like filming Picasso from behind the artist's easel—to viscerally capture the act of creation. The film was produced at film studios in Nice from July–September 1955. The film was released in France in May 1956, and won the Special Jury Prize at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival.
