Artist and Image Reproduction in Modern Art: Raoul Dufy Autograph Letter Concerning Photograph of His Painting

Raoul Dufy

Manuscript & Autographs

Dufy, Raoul. Letter concerning a photograph of one of his paintings written by the French artist whose work became associated with Fauvism and modern decorative painting in the early twentieth century. Raoul Dufy developed an internationally recognized style characterized by vivid color, rhythmic line, and scenes of leisure, music, and coastal life, while also producing designs for textiles, ceramics, book illustration, and large decorative murals. The letter records Dufy’s response to receiving a photograph of a painting that had previously been outside his possession, providing a brief but revealing document of the ways modern artists used photography to record and preserve images of their own work.

Dufy, Raoul. Typed Letter Signed. One page, written in French and signed in ink “Raoul Dufy.” In the letter Dufy expresses gratitude to the recipient for sending a photographic image of one of his paintings, writing: “Cher Monsieur, Je vous suis très reconnaissant de l’amabilité que vous avez eue de me faire remettre par un de vos collaborateurs la photographie d’un de mes tableaux qui était entre vos mains. Celle-ci manquait à ma collection, et je vous remercie encore de me l’avoir fait tenir. Veuillez croire, Cher Monsieur, à mes meilleurs sentiments.” In this statement Dufy notes that the photograph “manquait à ma collection,” indicating that the image filled a gap in his own documentation of his artistic production.

During the early twentieth century photography became an important tool for artists seeking to document works that had entered private collections or exhibitions beyond their immediate control. For painters such as Dufy, whose work circulated widely through galleries, collectors, and decorative commissions, photographic reproductions functioned as records of artistic output and as a means of preserving visual documentation of completed works. The letter therefore illustrates a practical aspect of artistic practice in the modern art world, where painters increasingly relied on photographic images to maintain a record of paintings no longer physically accessible to them. Light wear to paper edges; otherwise well preserved. Overall very good condition.

Item #14965

Price: $850.00