293-356_08_Robinson ok.qxp - Fondazione Giorgio e Isa de Chirico

336KATHERINE ROBINSON: GIORGIO DE CHIRICO – JULIEN LEVY. ARTIST AND ART DEALER. SHARED EXPERIENCEand intrigues etc. Now, I happen to know that the painter they support the most at the moment, Mr.Salvador Dalí, is going to have an exhibition at your gallery and that he has even departed for America.I know that his wife, who used to be the wife of Eluard, has gone with him. I have known this for along time, and I am mentioning it to you now as it is one of the principal reasons why I asked to havemy exhibition postponed to next year, because I am sure that Dalí and his wife will endeavour to speakbadly of me in New York and ruin my reputation with your clients. I am telling you this to warn you,and it is important for me that you be aware of these goings-on. Recently, I had an exhibition inAmsterdam which had a lot of success. I sold 7 paintings, of which 2 to museums. But I kept theannouncement of the exhibition secret until the last minute because of the Surrealists. Consequently, Iask you not to speak to Dalí of my exhibition at your gallery and if you have already told him, tell himyou have cancelled it. Please forgive me for this long letter, but it was necessary,With my best friendship,G. de ChiricoP.S. I ask you, please, not to speak to anyone about what I have told you. I have only mentioned thisto you in order for you to be up-to-date on the intentions of these people so you can defend my interestsif necessary. 42From reading these lines, we become aware that de Chirico had postponed his commitment to thegallery to spring 1935 in order to avoid having his exhibition coincide with that of Dalí, which was held atthe Julien Levy Gallery from November 21 st to December 10, 1934. It is also possible that the artist’s decision,in July, not to work with Pierre Colle was based on what he judged as too close a proximity betweenColle and Dalí, even if, at the time Dalí had already dismissed Colle from the charge of representing him.Mina wrote to Levy at year’s end, informing him that de Chirico had told her of other “naughtydoings” by the “little brother surrealists” and that these were even worse than those described inthe artist’s letter of November 10 th . In closing, she provided an analysis that emphasises her insightas an art critic: “Going back to de Chirico you know he is the most extraordinary accident – perhapsthe only one – that has happened in Art. I knew it from seeing the show of his early workand his new stuff proves it.” 43Two letters crossed paths in the mail in mid-January 1935, one from Levy dated the 13 th , in whichhe admitted to having just realized that he had not answered de Chirico’s letter concerning Dalí, anda letter from the artist dated the 18 th , soliciting news with regard to this specific issue. De Chiricoobviously received a rapid answer, seeing the letter was already on its way:January 13, 1935 44Mr. de Chirico9 rue Brown Séquard,Paris42Regarding de Chirico’s relationship with the surrealists, see J. de Sanna Giorgio de Chirico – André Breton: Duel à mort in “Metafisica. Quaderni dellaFondazione Giorgio e Isa de Chirico”, n. 1-2, Milan, 2002, pp. 62-87.43M. Loy to J. Levy, December 26 (the content of the letter dates it to 1934). Handwritten letter, Julien Levy Archive.44J. Levy to G. de Chirico, January 13, 1935, copy of typewritten letter in French, Julien Levy Archive.METAFISICA 2008|N° 7-8