Ian Ehling
Head of Department
Art, Illustration and Fine Press
Lot 41
DE SCHULTHESS CORRESPONDENCE ARCHIVE. LETTERS FROM FRIEDA LAWRENCE, MABEL LUHAN DODGE, DOROTHY BRETT, ANDREW DASBURG, AND MANY OTHERS.
Amalia de Schulthess (1918-2020) was born, raised and educated in Switzerland. Her father was a collector of contemporary art and Paul Klee was a family friend. In 1942 she married Hans George Martin de Schulthess (1918-1962),
Amalia de Schulthess (1918-2020) was born, raised and educated in Switzerland. Her father was a collector of contemporary art and Paul Klee was a family friend. In 1942 she married Hans George Martin de Schulthess (1918-1962),
13 December 2022, 11:00 EST
New YorkUS$5,000 - US$10,000
Looking for a similar item?
Our Books & Manuscripts specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
Darren Sutherland
Specialist
DE SCHULTHESS CORRESPONDENCE ARCHIVE.
LETTERS FROM FRIEDA LAWRENCE, MABEL LUHAN DODGE, DOROTHY BRETT, ANDREW DASBURG, AND MANY OTHERS.
Amalia de Schulthess (1918-2020) was born, raised and educated in Switzerland. Her father was a collector of contemporary art and Paul Klee was a family friend. In 1942 she married Hans George Martin de Schulthess (1918-1962), a member of an aristocratic Swiss family whose relatives disapproved of Amalia, and the next year the couple moved first to New York and later to Los Angeles to build a new life. In 1943 she met Piet Mondrian and became a patron of his, but soon she was creating her own art and moving in artist circles in Los Angeles and Taos, New Mexico while her husband was an important patron and collector of modern art.
The present lot includes a large collection of correspondence between de Schulthess and various artists and patrons of the arts, mostly from the Taos region, but also including contemporary artists from other areas, including:
LAWRENCE, FRIEDA VON RICHTHOFEN. 1879-1956.
5 Autograph Letters Signed ("Frieda"), 13 pp, 8vo, Taos, NM, September 18, 1954 to March 6, 1956, to Hans and Amelia de Schulthess, discussing Taos news. WITH: 4 Typed Letters Signed of ANGELINO RAVAGLI, her husband, 5 pp, August 25, 1956 to April 29, 1957. De Schulthess and her husband were tremendous D.H. Lawrence fans, so bookseller Jake Zeitlin arranged a meeting between the two women. Hans De Schulthess later purchased the original manuscripts for Lady Chatterley's Lover, through the mediation of Zeitlin, from Frieda.
LUHAN, MABEL DODGE. 1879-1962.
2 Autograph Letters Signed ("Mabel L"), 2 pp, 8vo, June 5, 1955 and n.d.
BRETT, DOROTHY. 1883-1977.
29 Typed Letters Signed and 2 Autograph Letters Signed ("Brett"), 44 pp, 4to, November 1, 1954 to March 16, 1965, most discussing Taos neighbors and friends as well as her painting, with photographs laid in, including portraits of Brett by Mildred Tolbert and images of paintings, a few annotated by the painter. Brett's correspondence contains rich details of the artistic social life in Taos during the 1950s and 1960s.
DASBURG, ANDREW. 1887-1979.
35 Autograph Letters Signed ("Andrew"), 51 pp, 8vo, most from Taos, NM, October 31, 1954 to January 28, 1970, 13 with original transmittal envelopes, with color snapshot portrait of Dasburg and related correspondence and ephemera. Much of the 1950s correspondence relates to an exhibition of Dasburg's work at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts that de Schulthess was instrumental in staging. De Schulthess was instrumental in resurrecting Dasburg's reputation after the modernist had fallen into obscurity after WWII.
BRADBURY, RAY. 1920-1912.
Typed Letter Signed ("Ray Bradbury"), 1 p, 8vo, April 24, 1986, on gilt stamped letterhead, thanking de Schulthess for a love letter, in original transmittal envelope, with signed paperback copy of Dinosaur Tales.
BRADBURY, MARTIN. BORN 1931.
Mimeographed manuscript, "Madhyamika Expressionism," 9 leaves, with hand coloring to first and final leaf, and with two original watercolors on paper and one photograph laid down to versos throughout. Watercolors signed integrally.
MAX, BILL. 1908-1994.
Typed Letter Signed, 1 p, 4to, September 30, 1958, together with two exhibition pamphlets.
BOWMAN, RICHARD. 1918-2001.
12 Autograph Letters Signed and one Typed Letter Signed ("Dick Bowman" and "Dick"), 17 pp, April 18, 1958 to April 14, 1981; with letters of his wife Peg, some written on the same sheets or sent in the same envelope as Richard's. Discussing Taos news and his work.
FEIN, FRITZ.
2 Autograph Letters Signed, 6 pp, January 6 and November 18, 1954, the earlier letter in English, the later in German.
BYWATERS, JERRY. 1906-1989.
2 Typed Letters Signed, 2 pp, January 29, 1957 and February 4, 1958, discussing the Dasburg exhibition.
NORDLAND, GERALD. 1927-2019.
11 Typed Letters Signed, 17 pp, May 9, 1972 to July 24, 1980, written during the period of his move from the San Francisco Museum of Art to the Midwest.
BOMBOIS, CAMILLE. 1883-1970.
Photograph Signed, 3 x 5 inch gelatin silver print, inscribed to Amelia de Schulthess, 1952.
COOK, HOWARD. 1901-1980.
12 Autograph Letters Signed, 26 pp, May 27, 1955 to September 20, 1979; WITH 4 Autograph Letters Signed of Barbara Cook, 11 pp, February 6, 1979 to January 26, 1980.
MULLICAN, LEE. 1919-1998.
4 Typed Letters Signed and one Autograph Letter Signed, 5 pp, September 6, 1954 to September 9, 1955.
LOCKWOOD, WARD. 1894-1963.
Autograph Letter Signed, Lawrence, KS, January 1, 1958, discussing his work.
WHITE, VICTOR. 1891-1954.
43 Typed Letters Signed ("Victor"), 68 pp, 4to, 1954, chatty, newsy letters about friends and art.
WILSHIRE, MARY.
2 Autograph Letters Signed ("Mary"), 4 pp, 8vo, Los Angeles, June 12, 1953 and October 3, 1954.
ONSLOW-FORD, GORDON. 1912-2003.
Autograph Letter Signed ("Gordon"), 1 p, tall 8vo, Inverness, CA, September 1, 1962, a sympathy letter written after the death of Hans.
WITH: several letters from unidentified correspondents, a mimeo transcript of de Schulthess's 1980 interview regarding Frieda Lawrence, and loose ephemera relating to the Taos art scene.
Amalia de Schulthess (1918-2020) was born, raised and educated in Switzerland. Her father was a collector of contemporary art and Paul Klee was a family friend. In 1942 she married Hans George Martin de Schulthess (1918-1962), a member of an aristocratic Swiss family whose relatives disapproved of Amalia, and the next year the couple moved first to New York and later to Los Angeles to build a new life. In 1943 she met Piet Mondrian and became a patron of his, but soon she was creating her own art and moving in artist circles in Los Angeles and Taos, New Mexico while her husband was an important patron and collector of modern art.
The present lot includes a large collection of correspondence between de Schulthess and various artists and patrons of the arts, mostly from the Taos region, but also including contemporary artists from other areas, including:
LAWRENCE, FRIEDA VON RICHTHOFEN. 1879-1956.
5 Autograph Letters Signed ("Frieda"), 13 pp, 8vo, Taos, NM, September 18, 1954 to March 6, 1956, to Hans and Amelia de Schulthess, discussing Taos news. WITH: 4 Typed Letters Signed of ANGELINO RAVAGLI, her husband, 5 pp, August 25, 1956 to April 29, 1957. De Schulthess and her husband were tremendous D.H. Lawrence fans, so bookseller Jake Zeitlin arranged a meeting between the two women. Hans De Schulthess later purchased the original manuscripts for Lady Chatterley's Lover, through the mediation of Zeitlin, from Frieda.
LUHAN, MABEL DODGE. 1879-1962.
2 Autograph Letters Signed ("Mabel L"), 2 pp, 8vo, June 5, 1955 and n.d.
BRETT, DOROTHY. 1883-1977.
29 Typed Letters Signed and 2 Autograph Letters Signed ("Brett"), 44 pp, 4to, November 1, 1954 to March 16, 1965, most discussing Taos neighbors and friends as well as her painting, with photographs laid in, including portraits of Brett by Mildred Tolbert and images of paintings, a few annotated by the painter. Brett's correspondence contains rich details of the artistic social life in Taos during the 1950s and 1960s.
DASBURG, ANDREW. 1887-1979.
35 Autograph Letters Signed ("Andrew"), 51 pp, 8vo, most from Taos, NM, October 31, 1954 to January 28, 1970, 13 with original transmittal envelopes, with color snapshot portrait of Dasburg and related correspondence and ephemera. Much of the 1950s correspondence relates to an exhibition of Dasburg's work at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts that de Schulthess was instrumental in staging. De Schulthess was instrumental in resurrecting Dasburg's reputation after the modernist had fallen into obscurity after WWII.
BRADBURY, RAY. 1920-1912.
Typed Letter Signed ("Ray Bradbury"), 1 p, 8vo, April 24, 1986, on gilt stamped letterhead, thanking de Schulthess for a love letter, in original transmittal envelope, with signed paperback copy of Dinosaur Tales.
BRADBURY, MARTIN. BORN 1931.
Mimeographed manuscript, "Madhyamika Expressionism," 9 leaves, with hand coloring to first and final leaf, and with two original watercolors on paper and one photograph laid down to versos throughout. Watercolors signed integrally.
MAX, BILL. 1908-1994.
Typed Letter Signed, 1 p, 4to, September 30, 1958, together with two exhibition pamphlets.
BOWMAN, RICHARD. 1918-2001.
12 Autograph Letters Signed and one Typed Letter Signed ("Dick Bowman" and "Dick"), 17 pp, April 18, 1958 to April 14, 1981; with letters of his wife Peg, some written on the same sheets or sent in the same envelope as Richard's. Discussing Taos news and his work.
FEIN, FRITZ.
2 Autograph Letters Signed, 6 pp, January 6 and November 18, 1954, the earlier letter in English, the later in German.
BYWATERS, JERRY. 1906-1989.
2 Typed Letters Signed, 2 pp, January 29, 1957 and February 4, 1958, discussing the Dasburg exhibition.
NORDLAND, GERALD. 1927-2019.
11 Typed Letters Signed, 17 pp, May 9, 1972 to July 24, 1980, written during the period of his move from the San Francisco Museum of Art to the Midwest.
BOMBOIS, CAMILLE. 1883-1970.
Photograph Signed, 3 x 5 inch gelatin silver print, inscribed to Amelia de Schulthess, 1952.
COOK, HOWARD. 1901-1980.
12 Autograph Letters Signed, 26 pp, May 27, 1955 to September 20, 1979; WITH 4 Autograph Letters Signed of Barbara Cook, 11 pp, February 6, 1979 to January 26, 1980.
MULLICAN, LEE. 1919-1998.
4 Typed Letters Signed and one Autograph Letter Signed, 5 pp, September 6, 1954 to September 9, 1955.
LOCKWOOD, WARD. 1894-1963.
Autograph Letter Signed, Lawrence, KS, January 1, 1958, discussing his work.
WHITE, VICTOR. 1891-1954.
43 Typed Letters Signed ("Victor"), 68 pp, 4to, 1954, chatty, newsy letters about friends and art.
WILSHIRE, MARY.
2 Autograph Letters Signed ("Mary"), 4 pp, 8vo, Los Angeles, June 12, 1953 and October 3, 1954.
ONSLOW-FORD, GORDON. 1912-2003.
Autograph Letter Signed ("Gordon"), 1 p, tall 8vo, Inverness, CA, September 1, 1962, a sympathy letter written after the death of Hans.
WITH: several letters from unidentified correspondents, a mimeo transcript of de Schulthess's 1980 interview regarding Frieda Lawrence, and loose ephemera relating to the Taos art scene.