PICASSO Pablo. - Lot 262

PICASSO Pablo. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED to André LEVEL. Paris, 5bis boulevard Schoelcher, May 19, 1916. One page in-8 on vert d'eau paper. Rare letter from Picasso the day after the premiere of Parade. My dear friend Level, rue la Boétie à la galerie Haussmann au 29 exposition vente de tableaux dessins sculptures et au profit des oeuvres La Table familiale et la Cantine D de l'Entraide artistique française (il y a un dessin de moi). I hope you got home safely last night, Picasso. This letter was written the day after the tumultuous and chaotic premiere of Ballet Parade, for which Picasso had designed the sets. It is to this event that the painter alludes in the last sentence of his letter. André Level was a businessman, patron and collector who frequented modern art galleries after meeting the Bernheim brothers in 1895. In 1904, he founded the association La peau de l'Ours, which helped launch Picasso and Modern Art. The public sale he organized in 1914 was one of Picasso's first successes. La Table familiale and Entraide artistique française were charitable associations offering meals to needy artists.