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Home>Exhibitions>Past>2010>Ex Libris: Chester Dale

# Ex Libris: Chester Dale

January 31 – July 18, 2010West Building, Ground Floor, Gallery G21

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Bookplate of Chester Dale, c. 1960, lithograph, National Gallery of Art Library, Gift of Chester Dale

Books about art were important to Chester (1883–1962) and Maud Dale (1876–1953). Maud was an author and critic who wrote extensively on art. Chester supported Maud’s publication projects and avidly acquired books and catalogues as aids to their collecting.

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Chester Dale in the West Garden Court, National Gallery of Art, c. 1943, photograph, National Gallery of Art, Gallery Archives

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Maud Dale, c. 1926, photograph, National Gallery of Art, Gallery Archives, Ellen B. Hirschland Dale Research Materials

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Chester Dale and Salvador Dalí at the preview of *The Sacrament of the Last Supper*on Easter weekend, March 30, 1956, photograph, National Gallery of Art, Gallery Archives

In the mid-1950s Chester Dale became fascinated by the work of Salvador Dalí (1904–1989) and befriended the artist. He urged Dalí to undertake work on the monumental canvas *The Sacrament of the Last Supper*, which Dale later purchased and bequeathed to the National Gallery of Art. In autographing books for his friend, Dalí reveled in the opportunity to show his skill as a draftsman. The inscriptions are in phonetic French, flavored by the spelling of Spanish.

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Drawing and inscription by Salvador Dalí in Michel Tapié́, *Dali*, Paris: Éditions du Chêne, 1957, pen and ink on paper, National Gallery of Art Library, Gift of Chester Dale

Inscriptions in translation:

 

Above:

For my great friend Chester Dale, the connoisseur who learns more quickly than any I’ve known, because he learns with his heart.

 

Below:

Saint George fighting the dragon of stupidity, our common dragon!

Saint George is the patron saint of Dalí’s native Catalonia.

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Drawing and inscription by Salvador Dalí in Carroll Carstairs Gallery, *Salvador Dali*, 1958, pen and ink on paper, National Gallery of Art Library, Gift of Chester Dale

Here Dalí addresses Chester and his second wife, Mary Dale. Dalí’s wife, Gala, added her greeting on the facing page.

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Drawing and inscription by Salvador Dalí in Albert Reynolds Morse, *Dali: A Study of His Life and Work*, 1958, pen and ink on paper, National Gallery of Art Library, Gift of Chester Dale

Inscription in translation:

*For Chester and Mary Dale, my American Don Quixote, with the gratitude and friendship of Dalí.*

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Drawing and inscription by Salvador Dalí in *Dalí on Modern Art*, 1957, pen and ink on paper, National Gallery of Art Library, Gift of Chester Dale

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Picasso’s *Family of Saltimbanques*in the stairwell of the Dale residence at 20 East 79th Street, c. 1935, S. H. Gottscho, photograph, National Gallery of Art, Library Image Collections

Maud Dale considered Pablo Picasso to be one of the greatest painters of the modern age, describing him as an artist "whose genius wields a weapon that never loses its cutting edge." She ardently promoted his work in the United States, publishing a monograph on the artist in 1930 and featuring his work in her 1931 comparative exhibition *Picasso-Braque-Léger* at the Museum of French Art in New York. The Dales also were astute collectors of Picasso and eventually owned some fifteen of his works.

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
*Madame Picasso*on view in the Dale residence, c. 1935, S. H. Gottscho, photograph, National Gallery of Art, Library Image Collections

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Drawing and inscription by Pablo Picasso in Galeries Georges Petit, *Exposition Picasso*, 1932, pen and ink on paper, National Gallery of Art Library, Gift of Chester Dale

Picasso made this elegant drawing for the Dales at the opening of the retrospective exhibition of his work at the Galeries Georges Petit in Paris on June 16, 1932.

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Inscriptions by Maud Dale and Pablo Picasso, 1931, pen and ink on paper, National Gallery of Art Library, Gift of Chester Dale

In 1931, the year after her monograph on Picasso was published, Maud Dale asked the artist to autograph a copy for Chester.

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Signatures in Galeries Georges Petit, *Cent ans de peinture française*, 1930, graphite on paper, National Gallery of Art Library, Gift of Chester Dale

The Dales loaned seventeen works to the great 1930 retrospective exhibition of French art at the Galeries Georges Petit. Four artists represented in the Chester Dale Collection—Pablo Picasso, Raoul Dufy, Louis Marcoussis, and Jean Lurçat—signed the Dales’ copy of the exhibition catalogue to commemorate the event.

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Inscription by Raoul Dufy in Galeries Georges Petit, *Cent ans de peinture française*, 1930, graphite on paper, National Gallery of Art Library, Gift of Chester Dale

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Dinner at the Galeries Georges Petit June 16, 1931, photograph, National Gallery of Art, Gallery Archives, Chester Dale Papers

Chester and Maud Dale were patrons and supporters of many contemporary artists and deeply enjoyed their company. In 1931 they were honored guests at the opening dinner for the great Henri Matisse retrospective exhibition at the Galeries Georges Petit in Paris. Henri Matisse is on the right with beard and glasses; Maud Dale is seated to his right, with Chester Dale two seats to his left.

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Inscription by Henri Matisse in Galeries Georges Petit, *Henri Matisse: Exposition organisée au profit de l’Orphelinat des arts: 16 juin–25 juillet 1931*, 1931, pen on paper, National Gallery of Art Library, Gift of Chester Dale

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Galeries Georges Petit, *Henri Matisse: Exposition organisée au profit de l’Orphelinat des arts: 16 juin–25 juillet 1931*, 1931, lithograph, National Gallery of Art Library, Gift of Chester Dale

One of the paintings that the Dales loaned to the exhibition was Matisse’s *Odalisque Seated with Arms Raised, Green Striped Chair*.

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Chester Dale, c. 1930, Miguel Covarrubias, watercolor and pencil on paper, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution NPG.85.39

In 1926, Chester posed in New York for a caricature by Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias (1904–1957). They remained friends, and some two decades later, Covarrubias reciprocated with a copy of his book including an inscription and the caricature of himself seen in the next slide.

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Drawing and inscription by Miguel Covarrubias in *Mexico South: The Isthmus of Tehuantepec*, 1946, pen and ink on paper, National Gallery of Art Library, Gift of Chester Dale

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Sitting room of Chester Dale’s apartment at the Plaza Hotel, New York photograph, National Gallery of Art, Gallery Archives

The Dales admired the work of the young French painter and tapestry designer Jean Lurçat (1892–1966), whom Chester described as "a poetic, sensitive artist who sees his friends through the colors of his own imagination and creative mind." In 1928 Chester and Maud commissioned Lurçat to paint their portraits, shown here, and during the next few years Chester purchased more of his works. The artist personalized his books for the Dales with whimsical drawings and wistful, lyrical inscriptions.

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Drawing and inscription by Jean Lurçat in *Recent Works of Jean Lurçat*, 1930, pen and ink on paper, National Gallery of Art Library, Gift of Chester Dale

Inscriptions in translation:

 

Above:

For Mrs. Maud Dale and Chester Dale, New York 1930To thank them for that which cannot be purchased—friendship

 

Below:

The sky, the sun, the stars are available to all, provided we can find machines to take us there. Here is one. I use it. It sometimes works, if you don’t mind that it consumes gas. I loan it to my friends. But I warn them that nearby is Man, whose shadow is often very heavy. But a shadow is never more than a shadow. Have you noticed that one can walk on a shadow?

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Drawing and inscription by Jean Lurçat in *Recent Works of Jean Lurçat*, 1930, pen and ink on paper, National Gallery of Art Library, Gift of Chester Dale

Inscriptions in translation:

 

Above:

For Chester Dale. This machine, to show him my affection. New York, 1930. Lurçat.

 

Below:

From the Earth to the Moon, there is more than one "Machine." Also plant a ladder, and at its foot, at its summit, Man. There remains, for God’s sake, still a little gap between Man and the Moon. This little gap, you could call it "Death." (It’s cold there!)

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Drawing and inscription by Jean Lurçat in Lefevre Gallery, *Paintings by Jean Lurçat*, 1930, pencil on paper, National Gallery of Art Library, Gift of Chester Dale

Ex Libris: Chester Dale
Drawing by Jean Lurçat in Philippe Soupault, *Jean Lurçat*, 1928, pen and ink on paper, National Gallery of Art Library, Gift of Chester Dale

**This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.**

**Overview**: 12 books inscribed by artists to Chester and Maud Dale were shown in this exhibition of books selected from the Chester Dale bequest to the National Gallery of Art Library. Photographs showing the Dales and their artist friends from the Gallery Archives also were on view, together with a portrait of Chester Dale by Miguel Covarrubias, on loan from the National Portrait Gallery. The installation was presented in conjunction with *From Impressionism to Modernism, the Chester Dale Collection*, on view in neighboring West Building Ground Floor galleries.

**Organization:** The exhibition was organized by the National Gallery of Art. Yuri Long, rare book specialist, National Gallery of Art Library, and Maygene Daniels, chief of Gallery Archives, were curators.

                    - From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection
                    - January 31, 2010 – January 2, 2012

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