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California Palace of the Legion of Honor
Lincoln Park
San Fransisco, California

Office of the Director

Saturday, January 21, 1939.

Dear Bob: 

Many thanks for your prompt response to my brochure of recent date about the Ingres drawing. The photograph came this morning. I am inclined to think - and Francesca shares this view - that it would be wiser to keep the drawing in New York where Nicol can see it when he is east next month. He leaves here on the 27th and will be working his way to the big city in a series of lecture engagements, culminating in a talk at the National Geographic Society sometime in February. Nicol has already declared his intention when we see him again. It so happens that we are invited to a dinner party for Moira and Nicol on Monday night. Unfortunately I am going down to see Collins-Baker at the Huntington Library tomorrow and won't be back till Tuesday, but Francesca is going to the dinner without me and will take along the photographs. She will tell Nicol that I was mistaken in thinking that the drawing was coming to the Milla Exhibition and indicate that it was not possible for you to lend it as it is under serious consideration by a client of your firm. Right? You can depend on the little mother to handle the affair with more ease then I - with all my years of practice at deception - could possibly manage!

Francesca asked me particularly to send you her love and to tell you that she felt like a worm for not having made any response to your epistolary overtures. She said something about having had two nice notes from you - which I seem to have forgotten. I am sure that I answered them, though, because I am the letter-writing fool of the family!

My fondest greetings to you both - and here's hoping that all this diplomacy will have a concrete result.

Once a beast always a beast,

Yours, 

Jon