TANGUY YVES: (1900-1955) French surrealist painter. A good A.L.S., Yves Tanguy, two ...

TANGUY YVES: (1900-1955) French surrealist painter. A good A.L.S., Yves Tanguy, two pages, 4to, Woodbury, Connecticut, 20^th June 1947, to [Alain] Gheerbrant, in French. Tanguy bemoans the fact that he only received his correspondent’s letter that morning and that it has taken eighteen days to arrive via air mail and continues to inform Gheerbrant that ‘Je n'ai pas sous la main l'eau-forte que vous me demandez pour Benjamin mais je puis la faire - je vais la faire de toute facon. Vous avez l'air presse et je ne peux guere vous la garantir avant une quinzaine de jours (par avion vous pourrez l'avoir vers le 10 juillet au plus tard)’ (Translation: ‘I don’t have on hand the etching that you asked for for Benjamin, but I can do it – I’m going to do it anyway. You seem to be in a hurry and I can hardly guarantee it before a fortnight (by plane you will be able to have it around 10^th July at the latest)’), further adding that Pierre Matisse had left last Saturday, and also referring to Andre Breton and Jacqueline Lamba, ‘Autre chose: Mrs David Hare, ex Madame Breton me demande d'urgence d'envoyer quelque chose pour une vente au benefice du meme Benjamin Peret. En temps normaux j'aurais fait une gouache pour cela mais je travaille comme un damne a faire precisement une serie de gouaches precisement, pour une possible exposition a Paris, alors j'avais pense que vous pourriez vous desaisir de ces documents de l'ex Vrille au benefice de l'actuel Peret? Et si vous voulez bien avoir la patience d'attendre un peu que je sois moins surmene je vous demanderai de bien vouloir accepter une autre gouache en compensation de toute la peine que vous voulez bien vous donner pour moi et pour nous. Si cela vous convient, voulez-vous remettre a Breton ces petites choses en question. Je vais d'ailleurs ecrire a Breton bien que je sois terrifie de le faire car je n'ai jamais ecrit depuis son depart! Je plaide coupable, dites-le lui’ (Translation: ‘Another thing: Mrs David Hare, ex Madame Breton, urgently asks me to send something for a sale for the benefit of the same Benjamin Peret. Normally I would have made a gouache for this but I am working like hell to make a series of gouaches precisely, for a possible exhibition in Paris, so I thought that you could part with these documents from the ex Vrille for the benefit of the current Peret? And if you would like to have the patience to wait a little until I am less overworked, I would ask you to accept another gouache as compensation for all the trouble you are willing to give yourself for me and for us. If that suits you, would you like to ask Breton these little things in question. I’m going to write to Breton even though I’m terrified to do so because I’ve never written since he left! I plead guilty, tell him'). A letter of fine content. Some feint, consistent ink bleeding to the page, causing significant show-through to the verso. VG

Alain Gheerbrant (1920-2013) French writer, editor, poet and explorer, the first avant-garde publisher who founded the publishing house K Editeur.

Benjamin Peret (1899-1959) French poet and Dadaist, a founder and central member of the French Surrealist movement.

Andre Breton (1896-1966) French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader and principal theorist of surrealism. Breton’s second wife, from 1934-43, was Jacqueline Lamba (1910-1993) French painter and surrealist artist.