Artist's Book Yearbook 2003-2005 - Book Arts - University of the ...

Gabrielle Keiller, the other great collector,
had been married to the distinguished
archaeologist Alexander Keiller (of the Dundee
marmalade family) who died in 1955. Her
interest in modern art began in 1960 when she
visited Peggy Guggenheim's art collection in
Venice and saw the work of Eduardo Paolozzi
exhibited at the Biennale. It was Paolozzi who
encouraged her to include surrealist works in
her art collection.
The Keiller Library
Photograph © National Galleries of Scotland
Mrs Keiller’s Library is a collector’s library
distinguished by the consistently high quality of
the material - fine bindings, rare editions and
books which like Penrose's, often contain
special dedicatory inscriptions and drawings.
There are many examples of first issues of
limited editions, which contain rare prints, and
manuscripts and sketch material. Many of these
came from the library of Georges Hugnet, who,
as artist, poet, writer, bookbinder, and
publisher, was a key figure in the production of
surrealist books in Paris. Among the Keiller
treasures is a de-luxe edition of Marcel
Duchamp's Green Box (Paris 1934), dedicated to
Hugnet and which complements Hugnet’s
de-luxe edition of Duchamp’s Boîte en valise
(1935 - 1941) also acquired by Keiller and given
to the Gallery. Hugnet and Hans Bellmers little
book Oeillades ciselées en branche (Paris 1939) can
be seen as the perfect example of the surrealist
livre d’artiste. Mrs Keiller acquired Hugnet’s
own copy printed on violet-scented paper,
complete with rose leather book-box lined with
silk-gauze and dried violets that he made for it.
The collection also has copies of Bellmer’s Die
Puppe (Karlsruhe 1934) and La Poupée (Paris
1935) as well as the artwork and manuscript for
Les Jeux de la poupée (1938 - 1939, but not
published until 1949).
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The Penrose & Keiller Libraries are remarkably
complementary, with little duplication. Both
contain key works by Hans Arp, André Breton,
Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Paul Eluard, Man
Ray, Francis Picabia, Yves Tanguy, Tristan Tzara,
working alone or in various combinations.
Since 1995, the Gallery has continued to collect
dada & surrealist publications most notably the
periodical Dada, the exhibition catalogue
Surrealism en 1949 with Duchamp’s special cover
of a foam breast laid on a black velvet cloth,
and most recently André Breton’s own copy of
Tristan Tzara and Marcel Janco’s La Première
aventure de M Antipyrine (Zurich 1916).
Both Mrs Keiller and Roland Penrose collected
books out of the surrealist movement. Penrose
had an especially fine collection of books by his
friends Picasso, Miró and Tapiès. Most of these
livres d’artiste contain unique dedicatory drawings.
Among the highlights are Picasso’s Vingt
Poèmes de Gongora, (Paris 1948) inscribed by
Picasso, with a full-page original drawing by
Picasso in coloured inks of a man on horse on
the title page. The book was given to Penrose
by Picasso during his visit to Britain for the
World Peace Congress held in Sheffield in
1950. Joan Miró’s Je travaille comme un
jardinier, (Paris 1963) similarly has a watercolour
drawing enclosed at the front that is
dedicated to Penrose and Lee Miller as does
Antoni Tàpies’s, Nocturn Matinal, (Barcelona
1970). Penrose’s connection with the ICA
brought him continued contact with the
contemporary art scene and his book collection
was enriched with examples of work by Dieter
Roth, whose little tentative recipe, (Stuttgart,
1969) was sent to him by the artist through the
post; it’s box still bears the stamps. Other titles
include Arte come Pre-Testo/Art as Pretext, by
Momo, (Rome, 1976), Ed Ruscha’s Twenty-six
Gasoline Stations (Alhambra, 1963) Some Los
Angeles Apartments, (Los Angeles 1970,) and A
Few Palm Trees, (Hollywood 1971) and Gui
Rosey and Hans Richter’s, Faits Divers, Faits
Eternels, (Paris 1972).
Gabrielle Keiller also had a lively interest in
contemporary art and encouraged many
younger British artists such as Richard Long,
Hamish Fulton, Gilbert and George, Bruce
McLean as well as Paolozzi. She acquired work
by Roy Lichtenstein and in 1976 commissioned