HÉLION, Jean (1904-1987)
Autograph postcard signed « Hélion » to Raymond Queneau
Rockbridge baths, Virginia, USA, 8 August 1936, 1 p. in-12°
« Europe, seen from afar, is incomprehensible, sickly, and tragic »
Fact sheet
HÉLION, Jean (1904-1987)
Autograph postcard signed « Hélion » to Raymond Queneau
Rockbridge baths, Virginia, USA, 8 August 1936, 1 p. in-12°
Stamped, composting marks
On the back of a card featuring the view of a river strewn with rocks
Small angular crease
Hélion writes to his friend Raymond Queneau from the distant lands of Virginia
« Enchanté d’être rassuré sur votre compte. Parlions de vous ce matin. Voici la rivière qui bruit sous notre porche. J’y pêche le bass et j’y canote acrobatiquement. Nous avons troqué la vieille Ford pour une neuve Chevrolet – grâce à la peinture ; et l’on me bâtit un superbe atelier en bois – grâce à un beau frère sympathisant. Je vis à peu près nu, je lézarde, charpente, nage, et m’inutilise [sic]. Vous auriez dû venir ici. L’Europe, vue de loin, est incompréhensible, maladive et tragique. Écrivez. Meilleures amitiés à tous 2 de nous les Hélion »
While traveling in the United States, after a disillusioned return from the Soviet Union, Hélion discovered a country that would bring him considerable fame from the 1940s onwards. Upon the publication of his book “They Shall Not Have Me,” which was a great success, Hélion married Pegeen Guggenheim, daughter of Peggy Guggenheim. He would be one of the contributors to the introduction of abstract art in the United States.Most of the correspondence between Queneau and Hélion took place when the latter was established in the United States. The two friends continued to exchange news from time to time after the war.
Bibliography:
Lettres d’Amérique, Imec éditions