Breton and Eluard are known to have attended the Kahnweiler sales to accompany the collector Jacques Doucet. Indeed Breton had become Doucet’s consultant at the end of 1920. Breton is known to have protested publicly against the downward speculation, yet he attended the four sales under the instruction of Doucet and he did bid for himself. From the first sale, Breton acquired a small Picasso’s Head for 350 frs that remained after their divorce in his wife’s collection [Daix 643 today at MNAM], in the second sale he acquired about ten works by Braque and Picasso among which Braque Woman with a mandolin for 500 frs (lot: 30, Thyssen Museum in Madrid [IMAGE Romilly72]). In the 3rd sale, his name appears in annotated catalogues as the buyer of at least three Braques including the Fishing Boats [lot 43, 360 frs, MFA Houston] and one large Léger The Staircase, state 2 (lot: 105, 230 frs, Museo Thyssen, Madrid). In the last sale, he bought several works including the iconic Picasso papier collé Head that he would resale later to Penrose [IMAGE Daix 595]. Breton was indeed an important bidders for all sales but the works acquired then, for himself or on the behalf of others - lots of them in the collection of international modern art museums today - were almost all resold by 1930.
The reconstitution of Breton’s collection and his purchase at the Kahnweiler sales, revealed new information on works that passed through his hands or those of his relatives. André Breton’s first wife, born Simone Kahn, seems indeed to have played a role that was unknown until then. Simone and Breton met in June 1920, and from then she played an active part in the Surrealist movement, ensuring the permanence of the Surrealist office (la Centrale surréaliste), she even published a text in the first issue of the Revolution Surréaliste. [ill. of Simone in the studio rue Fontaine in 1927]. One year later – at the same time as the first Kahnweiler sale - she convinced her parents to let her marry Breton thanks to the official position offered by Doucet to Breton to become his adviser and librarian for 20 000 francs [twenty thousand] per year. Simone’s parents instead of giving her a one-time dowry, provided the couple with a monthly allowance enabling them to live properly and even to begin an art collection. The correspondence between Simone and her cousin Denise Levy reveals precious information on their acquisitions, mentioning the purchase, exchange and sale of works, some of which came from the Kahnweiler auction. Denise’s husband, Doctor Georges Levy, was a passionate and active collector as well. From the time of the 3rd sale, Simone told her cousin that she would buy there some Braques and Légers for them if possible and on July 10th 1922 wrote: “I bought a painting for you and Georges. A large Léger of the kind that Georges told me he loved in Germany. 73 cm x 95 cm, 240F + 17.5% = 282. But you can choose between this one and a little Braque that cost (260 + 17.5%). Here is my opinion. The Léger is much better in terms of decor, furniture, and the Braque is infinitely more interesting as painting. Up to you."( Simone Breton, Lettres à Denise, Ed. Joelle, Gallimard, Paris, 2005, 10 July 1922, p. 97).
In the following exchange we learn that if Denise wants to have both, Simone needs to have Philippe Soupault’s agreement. It seems that Simone, André Breton and other surrealist member Philippe Soupault were indeed business partners, buying jointly from the Kahnweiler sale. That is actually confirmed by a letter of June 1924 in which Simone wrote: “Soupault request to carry his share of paintings and so we have to sell some.” ( Lettres à Denise, 20 June 1924, p.188).
In the last sale, a letter dated May 14th 1923 confirms that Simone bought again for their cousins a small Picasso and a Braque: “First, the Kahnweiler sale. I bought you another Braque [lot 123] which celebrates Mozart (I thought of Georges) for 200 francs, bigger than yours. And a small lovely Picasso for 220F that I think you will prefer to the great Léger that I initially took for you, and that looks a little too close to yours. I can keep it. I'll send them to you tomorrow. If the Pic.[asso] does not please you, send it back to me and I'll give you the Leger.” (Lettres à Denise, 14 May 1923, p. 133).
The Picasso mentioned in the letter may be the lot: 340, Head of a Young Girl, (Daix 376 [IMAGE]), that is the only Picasso work in that sale sold about 220frs.
The Braque painting Violin, Mozart Kubelik, 1912, [IMAGE] is now in the collection of the Metropolitan as part of the Leonard Lauder collection and was known as La Roche collection as former provenance. It has long been identified as lot 123 of the fourth sale, where – we know now – it was bought by the Bretons for Denise and Georges Levy. The price was 200 frs including fees. Only one year later, Kahnweiler offered to buy it back from them for 2 500 frs, more than 10 times its auction price. It seems likely that Kahnweiler sold it to La Roche in October 1925 (Daniel Henry Kahnweiler, marchand, éditeur, écrivain, Centre Pompidou, Paris, 1984, p. 140). At this time, Simone and André Breton frequented Kahnweiler for art and for business: they just discovered the work of André Masson who had his first solo exhibition at the galerie Simon (Exhibition André Masson, 25 February – 8 March 1924, Galerie Simon, Paris) and Kahnweiler tried to collaborate with Breton by offering to publish one of his text.
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Summary