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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Sotheby's New York To Sell Rare Chagall Sketchbook

A deeply personal sketchbook used by Marc Chagall for over twenty years will be one of the highlights of Sotheby’s Books and Manuscripts sale in New York on 17 June 2011. The 85-page book contains unpublished drawings in a variety of media, providing a virtual catalogue of Chagall’s colourful and moving iconography. The sketchbook originally belonged to the artist’s wife, Bella Chagall, who filled the first eight pages with her Yiddish translations of French poetry. After her death in September 1944, Marc Chagall poured his grief into the sketchbook through drawings and watercolours, many of which depict him with Bella. None of these images have ever been seen by the public before. The sketchbook, which is estimated to sell for $600/900,000, will be shown at Sotheby’s Paris on 16 and 17 May before returning to New York for exhibition beginning 11 June.

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