Woodbury, Conn.

phone Wd. 363

May 7, 1952

Mr. James Sweeney
The Crillion Hotel
Paris, France.

Dear James,

I just got your telegram, by post, and it took four days. There is a strike on here and they are not accepting cables.

I cannot understand how the damage could happen. The only man who could repair it is Antoine Fevener. I am writing to him et once authorizing him to do the repairs. If you contact him at 5 Rue Jean Sicaerde, Paris 15, you may arrange something with him. I don't know anybody else in Paris but if for some reason, Antoine is not there, I think that if the damage is slight, a good workman may temporarily fix the head onto the base with acetone. Ten porery fixing is done very easily with a small water-colour brush and a bit of acetone as a seccetive. Press the parts together, not too hard, and hold for a few minutes. There must be somebody of the workmen in the museum who will do that, but I hope Antoine is in Paris, and he will, of course, do it for me.

I am most distressed and astonished that such a thing could happen. It was so well packed and travelled around to so many exhibitions without damage.

Wishing you success,
Yours,

Sept.21,1952

Dear James,

I hope you are back again from Europe. I am going to be in New York
this week and Budworth notifies me that the "Head" is back, so I will
go and see them and inspect the work there.

I would very much like to see you and if you are not too pressed with
your time, could you arrange that we meet? I will phone to you Tuesday
evening or Wednesday morning.

Give my love to Laura and I am hoping to see you,

Yours,

Woodbury, Conn.

phone Wd. 363

Sept. 28,1952

My dear James,

It was good to see you and I enjoyed finding you in such good health and vigorous, as usual. The news that you are out of the jury is rather depressing. I wonder who is going to replace you? However, I quite see your point ---but I don't understand the committee in London not telling you in the first place that you would have to take upon yourself such an overwhelming task, besides being on the jury.

This is what discourages me about the whole affair of this competition. I am afraid it is all a matter of chance and accident. However, I was already working on my model and I will probably finish it just for my own satisfaction and in the hope that I may produce something which might be valuable for its own sake, prize or no prize. I have made up my mind not to expect anything.

You will, however, have to tell me your opinion when it becomes ready and I hope to be able to show it to you when the time comes.

Now about this insurance business. I promised you not to be hard on them and after my second inspection of the work I have thought it over carefully and found that I will have to replace the corner where the shoulder is and the base and I could have kept the damage down if this particular material, which is called "ivory rhodoid", were still available in this country. I have to get it from France or England or perhaps even from Germany; and reckoning with the time and work to put it all in order again, I think that it will be the minimum which I must reckon with and out of this I will pay Antoine for the temporary repair.

Please let me know how I should proceed in the matter. Am I to write to you officially or shall I write to the insurance company direct?

Miriam joins me in sending love to you both,

Yours ever,

P.S. I have talked with Marcel and his advice is not to try the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. He thinks it is too official an organization and too antiquated an interior and that it will be much better to exhibit in a private gallery. He advises Cerré---he thinks it is the best gallery in Paris. What do you think about it? If you have a free moment, please write to me.

F.S.2- I have now heard from the agent of the insurance company, who telephoned to me from NY and asked me about the amount of my claim, telling me to send the claim to him. I told him $500 and the agent said that he will be in touch with me. By the way, I think I told you that the inner cradle is missing.

Woodbury, Conn.

Jan. 4, 1952

phone Wd. 363

Dear James,

This is to wish you a nd your family the Happiest New Year and all success for the future, from Miriam and from me.

I also want to tell you some news which may strike you as partly funny, but which may at the same time interest you. I have got a letter from Herbert in which he tells me, with his toungue in his cheek, that he is being knighted---he thinks I may be "shocked". But he is mistaken-- I think it is a very good thing that he accepted it. I think the time has come when the personalities standing at the outposts of culture should not resent success or publicly aknowledged honor for their activities. After all, this is perhaps the only way for the public to show its appreciation and acceptance of what these personalities are fighting for. It should, in my opinion, not be taken with shynessbut with satisfaction as a sign of victory and acheivement.

It is for that reason that I was also so much delighted, as were most of our friends, when you accepted the call to the post which you are now holding. Incidentally, Herbert writes to me also about you--- he says, "It is good news about Sweeney. I wrote to congratulate him but I have had no reply; he may be annoyed with me on account of the sculpture competition affair. I had to leave all that to Kloman, who is running the competition. I was in Switzerland at the time."

And then he writes that the competition is giving rise to a lot of trouble of various kinds, so perhaps you are saved a lot of annoyance, tho personally, I consider that it is, for me, a great loss. And then at the end of the letter he adds something else about which I fully agree with him. He says,"James should have a wonderful opportunity at the MMOA. He will lift it out of the rather cranky atmosphere it developed under the Baroness and make people see constructive art in its relationship to the fundamental developments of our age. He has a great chance and he may change the whole attitude of the public."I cannot add anything to that since I know that you know it yourself better than any of us.

You and Laura will be getting an invitation to an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art on Jan. 27th. I hope that you can come and I shall see you there.Until that date it is still "TOP SECRET"whose are the eleven works to be shown.

I have some other news to tell you about myself. I think I am going to have an exhibition in April at the Pierre Matisse Gallery and he is going to be my dealer. There are a lot of interesting details to tell you when we meet---I hope soon. The gist of it is that I have not lifted a finger about it, Matisse came to me on his account. The contract is not yet signed, but we have agreed on all the points and I will probably sign it next week when I am in New York. I will give you a call and perhaps we can see each other then. So, with all good wishes,

as ever yours,

P.S. I am in haste now to write to Herbert. I think I shall begin,"Rise, Sir Herbert"---

Feb.23,1953

Dear James,

I wonder if you could help me to collect the insurance on my "Head, 1916"? The firm of adjusters, Messrs. Topliss and Harding, 99 John St., N.Y. 38, (Beekman 3-2911), had a correspondence with me about my claim for $500 and in December last assured me on the phone that it would be paid in January. I phoned them again early in February, speaking again with their Mr. Lenox, and they repeated that they do not understand the delay and promised to write to me.

I have heard nothing furthur and here it is nearly March. I have no written statement from them whatsoever and I need the money.

Do you have any way of putting pressure on them or do you think I shall have to go to law about it which I would like to avoid because it will cost me money? Perhaps a word from you will make more impression and hurry them up. I would be very grateful if you can do this.

Incidentally, I have had a letter from the Guggenheim Foundation explaining that my application is too late for this year---so I suppose you will not be hearing from them just now.

I hope to see you some time when I am in New York,

Breakneck Hill, Middlebury, Conn. Oct. 20, 1953
phone, Waterbury 6-6609

Dear James,

I heard from Buckley that you are coming to Hartford for a lecture and I was thinking it would be nice to see you and Laura here in our new house.

If you are going by car it would not be out of your way---we have moved from Woodbury to Middlebury---and should you have the time to stop on your way to Hartford, we should be delighted to see you here. Miriam will enclose a little map of how to find us.

The drive from here to Hartford is only an hour's time, so perhaps you could stop for lunch or tea here with us---it would be lovely to see you.

As ever, yours,

Mr. James Sweeney
Museum of Non-Objective Art
1071 Fifth Ave. New York