Édouard Manet Autographed Letter Headlines Fine Autographs and Artifacts Featuring Animation Auction

Massively influential on Modern art, Édouard Manet (1832 – 1883) was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life and was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Born into an upper-class household with strong political connections, Manet rejected the naval career laid out for him to engage in the world of art. His early works caused great controversy and served as rallying points for the young painters who would create Impressionism. Fashion and its accessories represented modern life for Manet. The motif of fashion accessories is frequent in his letters, which contained pictures of hats, little boots, handbags, parasols, etc. An autographed set of three pages signed “E. Manet,” dated July 1880, is available in the Fine Autographs and Artifacts Featuring Animation auction, presented by RR Auction. This is an exceptional, unpublished handwritten letter to the wife of his friend Jules Guillemet, illustrated with original watercolors showing little bags of various shapes and sizes, asking her to choose a model which he will then bring her from Paris. 

Another notable lot in the auction is a letter signed “M. K. Gandhi.” It is a four-page-long handwritten letter by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi to Mrs. A. M. Lewis of the Esoteric Christian Union. Gandhi wrote the letter regarding his efforts to promote theosophy during his second year in South Africa. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 -1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India’s independence from British rule. He inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky’s writings. View the Fine Autographs and Artifacts Featuring Animation auction and browse other online auctions on Bidsquare.