Lot 154A

Pablo Picasso PSA GEM MT 10 Rare ALS Re: French Artist Honoré Daumier: "… I received it - very beautiful"

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Pablo Picasso PSA GEM MT 10 Rare ALS Re: French Artist Honoré Daumier: "… I received it - very beautiful"

Estimate: $5,000 - $7,500

Current Bid: $1,800

(2 Bids)

June 17, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
Live Auction
Wilton, CT, US

Description:

Pablo Picasso
Cannes, France, August 28, 1958
Pablo Picasso PSA GEM MT 10 Rare ALS Re: French Artist Honoré Daumier: "… I received it - very beautiful"
ALS

A 1p autograph letter in French signed by Spanish Modern artist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) as "Picasso" near the bottom. August 28, 1958. Written at Villa La Californie, Picasso's home and artist's studio in Cannes, France from 1955-1961. Encapsulated and PSA/DNA certified and graded GEM MT 10. Boldly inscribed in blue ink on a watermarked paper sheet. Expected wear including flattened transmittal folds and extra wrinkles, as well as a few isolated tiny edge chips or closed tears. Else near fine and very legible. The actual size of the letter is 8.25" x 10.5" while the slab measures 9.75" x 13.25."

Picasso addressed this letter to Max Pellequer (before 1903 - after 1973), a close friend who has been called the artist's "finance minister" by one art historian. It is a testament to Picasso's intimacy with Pellequer (the two were friends between 1914 and the early 1970s) that the artist penned an entire autograph letter signed to him instead of relegating this task to Jaime Sabartés, Picasso's private secretary and later biographer. Overall, autograph letters signed by Picasso of any length or content are extremely rare because Picasso was often too busy or too bored to be bothered with correspondence.

Please see below for the transcript in French and the English translation. The spelling is original but the punctuation has been silently added to improve clarity:

Transcribed in full:

"'La Californie'
Cannes A.M.
le 28.8.58.

Mon cher Max,

Voici les trois cheques pour ces Messieurs des contributions que vous me demandez.

Demain je vous ecrirai plus longuement.

Bien a vous deux,

votre

Picasso

Le Daumier - je l'ai reçu - tres beau."

Translated in full:

"'La Californie'
Cannes A.M. [Alpes-Maritimes]
28.8.58

My dear Max,

Here are the three checks for these contributions gentlemen that you asked from me.

Tomorrow I will write you a longer message.

Best wishes to you both,

your

Picasso

The Daumier - I received it - very beautiful."

"Le Daumier" almost certainly referred to an artwork created by Honoré Daumier (1808-1879), the celebrated French draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and painter. The exact circumstances behind Picasso's reference to Daumier in the postscript are unclear. It seems possible that Max Pellequer, an avid art collector, could have sent Picasso an actual work by Daumier as a gift; or that perhaps Pellequer had forwarded Picasso a photograph or reproduction of one of Daumier's works that he, Pellequer, had recently acquired for his own collection.

Picasso greatly admired Daumier's work, especially the popular artist's sympathetic treatment of the working poor. It is well-documented that the teenaged Picasso viewed Daumier's work in Paris, first at the World's Fair of 1900, and later at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1901. These viewing sessions profoundly influenced Picasso's Blue Period (ca. 1901-1904). Picasso imitated Daumier's choice of subject matter as well as Daumier's artistic treatment of these subjects in works from the Blue Period; see especially Picasso's "Woman Ironing" (1901) and "The Poor Man's Meal" (1903-04). Picasso's rather terse statement that the Daumier is "beautiful" belies his high regard for Daumier's work, which was established during the first impressionable decade of Picasso's career some 60 years before.

The first possible explanation behind the Daumier reference - that Pellequer had sent Picasso an original work by Daumier as a gift - will require further research as a line of inquiry. After his death in April 1973, Picasso's wife and legitimate son Paulo complied with the artist's wish that some of his personal art collection be donated to the Museé du Louvre. An inventory of this bequest, described in a "New York Times" article published on May 14, 1973, described works by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, Paul Cézanne, Édouard Vuillet, Joan Miró, Amedeo Modigliani, and Henri Rousseau, along with some of Picasso's own works. It also stated that some pieces were kept by Picasso's estate. Thus it is not impossible that a Daumier could have been among the pieces held in reserve. Definitely deserving of more research!

Much of Picasso's correspondence with Pellequer includes financial content like this one, discussing Picasso's tax assessments and tax payments, his contributions to benefit funds, his insurance payments, and his residency status. Personal remarks that Picasso makes in these letters relate to his family, acquaintances, and current artistic projects.

Max Pellequer was a French banker who co-founded and later directed the Banque Nationale du Commerce et de l'Industrie. Over several decades, Pellequer's astute financial advice and shrewd stewardship of Picasso's sprawling assets enabled the artist to become a millionaire. Pellequer was also a kindred spirit, a serious art collector who acquired artwork by artists like Picasso, Degas, Cézanne, Gauguin, Matisse, Miró, Modigliani, Dufy, and others. Picasso purchased works from Pellequer's collection, and the artist designed a bookplate for his beloved friend. During the Nazi occupation of France, Pellequer is believed to have helped save some of Picasso's work by hiding it. This is no small accomplishment when one considers it would have probably been classified as "degenerate" by the Nazis and otherwise destroyed.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: slabbed: 9.75" x 13.25"
  • Medium: ALS

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000