ALS in French, signed “Picasso,” one page, 5 x 8.25, June 22, 1907. Busy creating one of his masterpieces, 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon,' the young Picasso apologizes for not being able to receive his correspondent at the Bateau-Lavoir in a remarkable handwritten letter. In full (translated): "Sir, I beg your pardon, I cannot be at home on Monday. I will be Tuesday, but if you prefer another day, please let me know. I salute you." In fine condition, with light folds and creases.
This rare and important letter from Picasso falls within the exact temporality of the creation of one of his major works which marked a turning point in the history of modern art: 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon,' the inaugural spearhead of the Cubist movement. 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon' was completed in July 1907 after months of intense artistic reflection, intense preparatory work, and multiple sketches. Working at the Bateau-Lavoir, in Montmartre, the 25-year-old Picasso had begun the realization of his work during the winter of 1906.
In the same month of June 1907, Picasso first visited the Musée d’Ethnographie du Trocadéro, the first anthropological museum in Paris, which then housed a vast collection of 'primitive' tribal art from Africa and Oceania. This visit had a decisive influence on Picasso in the completion of his painting, which displays mask-like features on its two rightmost figures.
On the advice of André Breton, 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon' was acquired by Jacques Doucet in 1924 for the sum of 25,000 francs. Resold in 1937 by Jacques Doucet's widow to the Seligmann Gallery (for 150,000 francs), the work was finally acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA) in 1939, where it has been kept ever since. Picasso's letters from the first decade of the 20th century are extremely rare.
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