PISSARRO (Camille). Autograph letter signed "C.Pissarro" to - Lot 188

PISSARRO (Camille). Autograph letter signed "C.Pissarro" to his son, the painter Félix Pissarro, known as "Titi", with his family. Rouen, March 12, 1896. 3pp.3/4 in-12. "My dear Titi... I really approve of you doing your portrait, the figure is difficult to model, you have to practice all the time. When will you send the paintings to Martin [art dealer Pierre-Firmin Martin]? I'll see them at his place in Paris. I've had rainy, gray weather all these days, very favorable for most of my paintings, so it's starting to come to an end. I did a motif that interested me a lot, a wet effect, a view of the old quarters of Rouen with the cathedral, and I'm quite happy with it. It's a 30-canvas, and there's an amateur who's held it for me. The question is whether he'll want to pay me 4,000 for it - it's not certain. All I have left is a sunset effect T.30 [canvas of 30], a sunny fog T.30 and 3 small T. of 15 to finish; if it had my effect, it would be finished by the end of March, I hope to get there, so in two and a half months I'll have done 8T. of15 and 7T. of30 of which at least 10 are very advanced; I've done a few lytho, I hope to have a few days to do a small series of them, that will be for the end. I'll be passing through Paris before going to Éragny [his home at Éragny-sur-Epte in the Oise department]. Lucien writes me that his book is very late because the paper isn't delivered, so he probably won't be able to come and help me choose my paintings, hang them and take care of the catalog, which we'll do anyhow... Your mother still plans to go with Cocotte to London; as for me, it seems difficult, someone has to stay in Éragny, and besides, it would be very expensive. It's true that I'll have a lot of work to do, but it wouldn't be very convenient, even if I had a sale, but those devilish connoisseurs are always undercutting me... I've just missed a sale here, simply because this amateur, who paid 1800 for a T. de20 at Portier, doesn't want to pay 4,000 here, he's the father-in-law of the cathedral amateur. There's the rub! If we go down because we absolutely have to, that's it... it's the devil afterwards, so I'll hold out, I'd rather give them to Durand at half price, at least he keeps his prices..."