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Page 2. Germain Seligmann, Esq.,    Match 12th, 1935.

He told me that Morgan sold six pictures, but that it was now finished, and he thinks that was sold was the six outstanding pictures. I am under the impression that he is sorry he missed the GHIRDLAND [[strikethrough]] AO [[/strikethrough]] because he asked me if I knew who had bought it. It is he who advised Morgan to go Knoedler for the sale of his pictures, but I realize that Knoedlers are after him quite often, offering him one thing after another, as it came out in the conversation that Vigée le Brun bought by Mrs. McCann had been offered to him too

We discussed also the Morgan sculpture and G.B. inferred that he was willing to pay $75,000.- for the DESIDERIO Bust, for which he was asked $150,000.-, the price being down now to $125,000. At that price, he told me emphatically, he was not considering it. When Morgan consulted him about selling his things, G.B. told him that the Governor once said to Alphonse of Rothschild, who wanted to dispose of some of his things, that the only two conditions under which he could sell them well was, either if he died, or if he went broke. 

EXHIBITIONS - Evelyn has had a marvelous idea for an exhibition, and one which, if it could be worked, would cost us nothing and would do us some good. We now have another exhibition of the Modern Group. I never thought it could be worse than the previous exhibition, but it is; nobody at all comes in to it, but on the other hand, to the third floor exhibition yesterday came a young man who nearly knocked George Blumenthal over when he tried to get out of the elevator at the same time as G.B. did. It was a youngster dressed in a leather jacket and I had to apologize to G.B. This happened because I showed the LAURANA to Mr. Blumenthal, which I was lead to show him in reference to the discussion we were having about the Morgan sculpture, and I certainly returned to the firm of Knoedler the good turn we recently discovered they had done to us. 

WALTER HELL - He told me that they were going to inherit $1,000,000- from the Williams' upon his death. As he is 80 years old, there is a possibility that shortly the Museum will finally have a purchasing fund.

Heil told me that they had exchanged at Wildenstein's a very bad Watteau which Mr. Fleishhacker had brought many years ago, against a Greuze and another picture. He told me that they would certainly announce it as a sale, and he was telling me so that I should not feel badly if I ever read it. 

EDGELL - I have offered Edgell the Jonas FRAGONARD and the Agnew CIMA, after having made an arrangement with the owners, because I didn't see anything else which we could offer to Boston. I received a charming letter from Edgell, who is going to Carolina for a week and will be in again afterwards. They brought the MANET J.E.Blanche.

Mrs. MURRAY CRANE - I hope to go there shortly. 

JO DAVIDSON - We had the visit of Jo Davidson, but he has an arrangement with Knoedler by which he gives all his exhibitions there, and the only way he can leave them is if we give him a permanent show. 

Affectuensement, 
Reney

P.S. I forgot to write to you about the LeNain. When I showed the "Dancing Girls" to Mr. Blumenthal, he said that LeNain was a boring painter, and that it was alright for French museums to have him, but it was of no interest to American museums. 

Germain Seligmann, Esq.,
Paris, France.


Transcription Notes:
fixed strikethrough, was [strikethrough] & no /end many typos please, check & fix transcription, then send back for review. ---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-03 08:17:18 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-05 02:05:58 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-05 14:00:59 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-05 19:34:19 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-05 23:05:40 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-05 23:21:30 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-06 08:29:00