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November 7, 1958

Madame:

May I ask you to be kind enough to excuse the liberty I am taking in writing you in connection with the collection you inherited from Mr. Robinson and exhibited last summer at the Royal Academy of Arts.

I feel certain that in view of the exceptional beauty and quality of the paintings thus shown, you have been approached already by a number of collectors.  However, the very real interest shown by a client of mine prompts me to add one more letter to the many I feel certain you must have received.

He is greatly impressed by the Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, "The Madonna of the Rosary, with Angels" and has requested me to inquire whether you would envisage parting with it.  We know of course from the different publications, magazines and newspapers, of your intention to keep this group as is in toto, and from the same sources are advised of your bequeathing them to a museum in South Africa.

However, at times collectors have changed their minds and could this be the case as regards your feelings toward the G.B. Tiepolo, you might be willing to entertain the thought of parting with it, thus substituting a new acquisition for this painting.

Should your answer lead me to think that such a solution could be reached I would be happy to go over to London and discuss the matter further with you.

May I reiterate my apologies for writing you in this vein, and believe me to be

Yours very sincerely,

Germain Seligman

Princess Labia
c/o Royal Academy of Arts
Piccadilly
London W.1., England

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