Lot 546: Anna de Noailles

Romanian-French writer (1876-1933) friendly with the intellectual, literary, and artistic elite of the day including Marcel Proust, Andre Gide, Paul Valery, and Jean Cocteau; Rodin sculpted her portrait in 1906. Handwritten manuscript intended to be published by the French magazine Le Courrier de Monsieur Pic, 13 pages, 10.5 x 8.25, no date. Manuscript is inscribed at the top, "À Monsieur Sacha Guitry, en témoignage de mon admiration [as a gesture of my admiration], Anna," and is signed again at the conclusion, "Anna de Noailles." In part (translated): "I saw you, I spoke with you, I was charmed by your studied and courteous grace, yet you intimidate me! Nevertheless I have tackled all questions of interest to human thoughts with the most famous, diverse, revered persons and during these deferential discussions it was rare when I did not suddenly hear these interlocutors laden with glory, weighed down by years-sometimes by stoutness-and altitude call 'mon petit' [my darling]. This is the element of being shy but unhappy this expansive shyness reaches familiarity....Why do you inspire in me this reserve that puts me in an awkward position? I think I found it; it is because you are particularly so elegant!...I have the same optimistic tendency, dear Mr. Pic, I have a positive outlook on the future. I believe in eternal things, in the sun and heavens splendors, in intelligence of mankind, in its kindness, in the curious and thinly veiled wisdom but at the end being certain of destiny." In fine condition. Provenance: Sacha Guitry Collection.Known as much for his social life as his prolific theatrical work-moving in Paris's elite circles and marrying five up-and-coming actresses over the course of his career-Sacha Guitry enlisted his personal connections to create a short series of letters for his magazine, 'The Letters of Mr. Pic.' This lengthy submission from fellow socialite and writer Anna de Noailles, filled with fawning praise of the title character, offers a lighthearted counterpoint to much of her celebrated poetry, known for its ecstatic, often violent, and frequently tragic undercurrents. Exceedingly rare, this is only the second item we have offered from Noailles.

AMS