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Spaightwood Galleries, Inc.
120 Main Street, Upton MA 01568-6193; 800-809-3343
René Magritte (Belgian, 1896-1967): Etchings and a Lithograph
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For many people, Magritte's works are the first to come to mind when Surrealism is mentioned. Magritte created a world of well-dressed men in bowler hats (a staple of pre-war European dress still happily embraced by Brussels' corps of business men on trains) around whom odd things happen (toys trains coming out of walls, houses with faces, a pipe bearing the legend, "this is not a pipe") without ever breaking their compsure. In Magritte's world, as in dreams, the unconscious is fully conscious and we simply see without emotions a new world existing all around us all of the time. Magritte's works are to be found in every important collection of modern art. The Kaplan-Baum catalogue raisonné of his prints numbers only 2 lithographs and 18 etchings, of which, according to the introduction to The Graphic Work of Rene Magritte (1982), only five were created "created as graphics by Magritte's own hand; the rest were initiated by Magritte in other media (pen and ink, crayon sketches, gouache) for the sole purpose of being rendered as graphic work. All of these works were "completed and initiated during the last eight years of the artist's life (1961-1968)." Recently Magritte's estate released 3 previously-unknown Magritte etchings (see belpw), all signed in the plate, in an edition of 950 impressions on Rives paper printed by the Atelier Dutrou in Paris. One is dated 1952 in the plate; the others were dated 1928 and 1934 by Magritte's estate. To have found these three additional plates is an important discovery.
The etchings themselves are in mint condition. When an etching plate is steel-faced to harden the soft copper ( a process this is fairly standard these days for editions larger than 50 impressions), a much larger number of impressions can be printed without deterioration of the quality. Our images are very good impressions. Magritte prints are selling for very high prices these days: In March 2008, a color lithograph after Magritte published in 1973 numbered 462/750 with a stamped signature sold at auction for $2600 plus 20% ($3120); a posthumously-published etching (175x143mm) published in 1969 in an edition of 150 with a stamped signature printed by Georges Visat after a drawing by Magritte sold at auction for $3200 (plus 20%) for a total price of $3840. Our three etchings, according to the estate stamp, are done from plates executed by Magritte himself.
Bibliography: General works: There is a multi-volume catalgoue raisonné in progress written by David Sylvester and Sarah Whitfield, René Magritte: Catalogue Raisonné (Antwerp: Mercatorfonds for Philip Wilson, London, 1993) Sylvester is also the the author of several studies of aspecs of Magritte's work including Magritte (London: Arts Council of Great Britain, 1969) and Magritte (London: Thames & Hudson, 1992). The bibliography of works on Magritte is enormous; selected entries include Richard Calvocoressi, Magritte (London: Phaidon Press, 1994); James Thrall Soby, Magritte (New York: Doubleday, MOMA, 1965); Harry Torczyner, Magritte: Ideas and Images (NY: Abrams, 1977); Sarah Whitfield, Magritte (Exhibition catalog, London: The South Bank Centre, 1992). Gilbert E. Kaplan and Timothy Baum prepared a catalogue raisonné of Magritte's prints (The Graphic Work of René Magritte) in 1982 which now needs to be updated.
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Les bijoux indiscrets / The talkative jewels. Original color lithograph, 1963. 75 signed and numbered impressions, 20 HC impressions, and an edition of c. 2000 impressions published in the deluxe art review, XXe Siecle in 1963. This is his first lithograph, one of twenty lithographs and etchings he finished before his unexpected death in 1966. The work is illustrated in Gilbert Kaplan, ed. Surrealist Prints (NY: Abrams, 1997) and reproduced on the front cover of the catalogue raisonné of Magritte's prints, The Graphic Work of René Magritte, 1982. A very important print. Image size: 244x310mm. Price: $1850.
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Le Viol / The Rape. Original etching, 1934. 950 numbered impressions signed in the plate lower right plus 50 HC impressions. All are also signed with the blind stamp of the "Magritte Succession" (The Magritte Estate). Printed at Atelier Dutrou in Paris on Velin de Rives. This is the original publication of this etching. Image size: 155x137mm. Price: $1500.
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The blind stamp of the Magritte Estate serves to autheticate the etching above and the two below and appears on each of the etchings. Printed at Atelier Dutrou in Paris on Velin de Rives. This is the original publication of these three etchings.
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Les Amants / The Lovers. Original etching, 1928. 950 numbered impressions signed in the plate lower right plus 50 HC impressions. All are also signed with the blind stamp of the Succession Magritte (The Magritte Estate). Printed at Atelier Dutrou in Paris on Velin de Rives. This is the original publication of this etching. Image size: 121x130mm. Price: $1350.
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La Trahison des images / The Treachery of Images. Original etching, 1952. 950 numbered impressions signed and dated in the plate plus 50 HC impressions. All are also signed with the blind stamp of the Succession Magritte (The Magritte Estate). Printed at Atelier Dutrou in Paris on Velin de Rives. This is the original publication of this etching. Image size: 88x132mm. Price: $1500.
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René Magritte–Harry Torczyner, Letters Between Friends (NY: Abrams, 1994). Letters translated into English with reduced-size French versions parallel to the translations. Trade format paperback. Magritte and Torczyner became close friends after Magritte painted his portrait; Torczyner, a lawyer in New York, watched out for Magritte's business affairs in the US and published a study of Magritte after his death, Magritte: Ideas and Images (NY: Abrams, 1977). An interesting look into two friends and the business end of art. Mint, shrink-wrapped copy. List: $19.95.; Price: $12.50.
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Gilbert Kaplan, ed. Surrealist Prints (NY: Abrams, 1997). The best book on Surrealist printmaking available. It includes several Magritte original prints including the litograph above. Large format hardcover. $45.
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Spaightwood Galleries, Inc.
To purchase, call us at 1-800-809-3343 (508-529-2511 in Upton MA & vicinity) or send an email to sptwd@verizon.net. We accept AmericanExpress, DiscoverCard, MasterCard, and Visa.
For directions and visiting information, please call. We are, of course, always available over the web and by telephone (see above for contact information). Click the following for links to past shows and artists. For a visual tour of the gallery, please click here. For information about Andy Weiner and Sonja Hansard-Weiner, please click here. For a list of special offers currently available, see Specials.
Visiting hours: Noon to six Saturdays and Sundays; other times by arrangement.
Please call to confirm your visit. Browsers and guests are welcome.
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