MAGRITTE (René). - Lot 150

MAGRITTE (René). Born in Lessines (Belgium). 1898-1967. Belgian surrealist painter. L.A.S. "René Magritte" to "Chère Madame". S.l. [Brussels], February 1, 1967. 1 p. large in-8. RENÉ MAGRITTE, 97 RUE DES MIMOSAS BRUXELLES 3" letterhead. The painter thanks his correspondent for the interest shown in his exhibition, during his visit to the Galerie Iolas: ...The pictures I painted last year required a lot of work and attention - as you can imagine... You'd like me to paint a portrait of you. Unfortunately, I gave up portraiture a few years ago. It requires a kind of preoccupation that would be difficult for me to recapture. I'm sorry to inform you of this, but I hope you'll forgive me for not being able to meet your expectations...The artist has highlighted the difficulty of making the reality of the world coincide with our mental images. His paintings play on the discrepancy between an object and its representation. On the subject of his painting Ceci n'est pas une pipe, he declares: "The famous pipe, I've had enough of that! And yet, can you stuff my pipe? No, it's only a representation. Gallerist Alexandre Iolas (1907-1987) owned art galleries in New York, Paris and Athens, where he supported avant-garde artists such as Victor Brauner and Niki de Saint-Phalle, encouraging collectors to acquire their work. A great art collector, he exhibited and bought the works of the Surrealists and later those of avant-garde artists.