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| ARTBEAT |
| REFERENCE |
Arabian Nights
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| A RARE SET OF 13 LITHOGRAPHS, FOUR TALES OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS BY MARC CHAGALL. IS TO BE SOLD AT CHRISTIE'S NEW YORK ON 27-28 APRIL |
Despite the political upheaval of the late 2930s and Bella Chagall remained in France until early 1941 when they left forthe United States via Spain. They were later joined by their daughter, Ida.
Although, superficially; arriving in America must have left like a homescoming, given the large expatriate Russian-Jewish community, neither Ghagall nor Bella felt happy in the city, escaping whenever they could to the country up-state, it was here in 1944 that Bella died suddenly, leaving Chagall alone and grieving. After moving in with Ida on Riverside Drive Manhattan, he met and gradually fell in lovr with Virginia Haggard, a young English woman who was earning a living as Ida's houskeeper.
As the romance blossomed, Virginia found herself to be pregnant and Chagall moved her out of New York to High Falls where their son David was born and Chagall entered one of the most fruitful periods of his career.
| Back in Eden, Chagall continoued working on Arabian Nights... After a marvelous cycle of gouache, now be worled on the lithographs, both colored and black and white. As he drew on the stone, Virginia read the gorgeous tales to him. he loved to read while he worked, and as she read and Mare's crayon evoked breasts that became moons and jinni like the firebird, Virginia could not help thinking of Bella reading to him as he created the illustrations for the Bible, Ames Mortes, and La Fontaines' Fables, (Sydney Alexander, Mare Chagall, New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1978) |
It is the culmination of this work stimulated by late found happiness which Christie's New York will be offering in the April Print Sale. Complete sets of Arabian Nights are rare, and the set offered by Christie's night is one of the ten containing a rare thirteenth colour lithograph, the first such set to be sold at auction in the past ten yet. |
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| MARC CHAGALL (1887-1985), Four Tales from the Arabian Nights, New Yrok, Pantheon Books, Inc., 1948 (Mourlot 36-48; Cramer 18). |
The complete deluxe set of 13 signed, numbered and inscribed lithographs in colours, 1948, copy F of K, in original portfolio, 171/4 x 131/4in. (440x335mm) Estimate: $400,000-$600,000 |
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