GAUGUIN (Paul). Autograph Letter Signed "P.... - Lot 16 - Osenat

GAUGUIN (Paul). Autograph Letter Signed "P. Gauguin" TO CAMILLE PISSARRO. [Paris], February 9, 1883. 3 pp. 2/3 in-12, one small stain. "My dear Pissarro... your contract was very exaggerated; you were first charged a premium of 1 f. 50 instead of 1 f., which makes you on the whole 84 f. that you pay too much. In addition, the Preservative is a dirty little company that would be unable to pay you if you burned. What is done can be decreased for the following year. Here is what we are going to do in a nutshell. 1° Wait for the month of May because if you burn by that time, they should not have anything to quarrel about. In May, I will reduce your contract from 280,000 to 15,000 francs, which will give you a premium of about 20 francs. When you come to Paris, I will explain this to you because it is difficult to understand by letter. In any case, you can sleep soundly; you won't have to pay 300 francs next June. But once and for all, to all those who want to torment you about insurance matters, tell them that you don't know anything about it but that you have a friend who deals with it. The way to get rid of business people is to tell them that you already have a business person. I've just had a lot of trouble, my brother-in-law TAULOW has just divorced [Norwegian painter Frits Thaulow had married Ingeborg Gad, sister of Paul Gauguin's wife] and I've been forced to deal with all this and I'm still in the middle of all this turmoil. Despite this, I have a lot of work to do for a long time. I HAVE FOR SUNDAY IN EIGHT A SMALL PORTRAIT TO DO (A SKETCH, OF COURSE) OF A LITTLE GIRL IN A BLACK AND PINK SPANISH SATIN COSTUME: A REAL PLAY OF COLORS. On Shrove Tuesday, as I was leaving the office at 2 o'clock, I WENT FOR A LITTLE TOUR OF MONTMARTRE AND VISITED MANET AT HIS HOME. Curious thing, he thought he understood from your last trip to his house that you and I were on the outs. I assured him of the contrary, at least as far as I was concerned, my opinions as well as my feelings not having changed with regard to you. Many thanks to Madame Pissarro... I keep your contract, I will give it to you when you come. Paul Gauguin, who had known Camille Pissarro for a long time and sometimes painted with him, had just decided to devote himself fully to painting. He thus abandoned his former profession as a stockbroker (because of his love of art but also because of the consequences of the crash of 1882), but his experience in financial matters allowed him to advise his friends, as here Camille Pissarro.