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| Series IV. Exhibitions and other art activities, 1931-1964
2.25 Linear Feet
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| Series comprises papers relating to other exhibits, gallery business, publishing activities, lists of Mesens's own art work
and collection of art, and a few personal documents. The 1951 exhibit "75 oeuvres de demi-siècle," held at the 4th annual
Festival Belge d'Eté, is documented by ca. 160 items. Other exhibition materials in the files include those for Picasso, Max
Ernst, Magritte and several group exhibits of surrealist artists. Various Belgian artist groups, many political, are documented
with small files of printed materials, including L'Association Revolutionnarie Culturelle (A.R.C.). The liquidation of P.G.
van Hecke's Galerie L'Epoque is represented in several lists of stock. Address books and official documents relate to Mesens's
personal life and work. A few files contain papers about the London Gallery. Unpublished manuscripts, comprising 1 linear
ft. were sent to Mesens when he was publisher and editor of the London Bulletin. Other small files relate to a journal issue he edited, Documents 34, and the disposition of copies of his collaboration with Paul Eluard, Alphabet sourd aveugle.
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folder |
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Correspondence "75 oeuvres de demi-siècle exhibition," 1951
50 items
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Items regard lending artworks for this exhibition, part of the 4th Festival Belge d'ete. Includes correspondence with Ludo
Van Bogaert (2 items), Jean Casson (2 items), Leon Degand (7 items), Sonia Delauney (3 items), Madame Petro van Doesburg (2
items), Philippe Dotremont (11 items), Eric Estorick (2 items), Carlo van den Bosch (1 item), Van Geluwe (5 items), Robert
Giron (2 items), Benedict Goldschmitt (3 items), Fernand Graindorge (4 items), Jean Grimar (5 items). [See also Series I.
Correspondence, files for 1951.]
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9 |
Correspondence "75 oeuvres de demi-siècle" exhibition 1951
48 items
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Regarding lending artworks for the exhibition. Includes correspondence with Madeleine Ittner (4 items), Max Janlet (15 items),
La Baronne Lambert (4 items), Emile Langui (7 items), Roland Letten (4 items), Musée des Beaux-arts de Liège (10 items), Yvonne
Lyon (2 items).
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Correspondence 75 oeuvres de demi-siècle exhibition, 1951
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51 items regard lending artworks for the exhibition. Includes correspondence with Marcel Mabille (4 items), Albert Marteaux
(3 items). Letters from Mesens to Brancusi, van Bruaene, Giacometti, and letters to Mesens from Seligman, Louis Camu and Van
Bruaene; Roland Penrose (2 items), Gilbert Perier (4 items), André de Ridder (5 items), Henri Pierre Roché (3 items), Musée
de Tel Aviv (4 items), J. B. Urvater (5 items), W. Vanbeselaere (7 items), J. M. de Vlieger (5 items) and Georges Vriamont
(3 items).
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"75 oeuvres du demi-siècle" publicity 1951
12 items
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Publicity for Festival Belge d'Eté and exhibit at Knokke. Includes several invitations, catalogs and programs of the different
national sections.
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folder |
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1 |
P.G. van Hecke (Galerie L'epoque) liquidation ca. 1932 |
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Includes: Ventes faites (1932), Collection de tableaux, lists 42 paintings of van Hecke liquidation (3 copies) and Collection
de livres, listing 1162 books.
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L'Association Revolutionnaire Culturelle (A. R. C. ) & Groupe surrealiste en Belgique, ca. 1934-1935 |
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Includes: printed ephemera, letters and mss. Letter to members of Belgian surrealist group, about A. R. C. (1936), 7 pp letter
to Belgian surrealists after the publication of the Bulletin International du Surrealisme in 1935, expulsion of André Souris from the Belgian group (1934), A.R.C. manifesto against the Nazis. [Some correspondence
from A. R. C. members also in correspondence, Series I.]
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Documents 34
ca. 1934
5 items
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Text by Mesens for Documents 34 (11 pp), two poems by Gisèle Prassinos published in Documents 34 (Nov. 1934).
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Issue of Documents 34
1934
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"Mouvement de pensée dans la révolution" (several pages missing), by Marcel Lecomte and Mesens; Billet (for Paul Nougé) by
Irène Hamoir, published in Documents 35
1935
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Max Ernst exhibit 1939 |
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2 typed pp., list of works and prices for the catalog. |
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7 |
Picasso exhibit at Knokke, 1950 |
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Printed ephemera for this exhibit curated by Mesens, then director of the London Gallery. |
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8 |
Magritte exhibitions, 1936-1959 |
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Letters, lists of works, drafts for catalog entries, printed ephemera. Includes two letters from P.G. van Hecke, one 5pp letter
from Mesens to Magritte, 1938, draft of protest letter on Magritte letterhead written by Mesens and Magritte, letter from
George Melly to Magritte c.1946, and document related to affair Schwarzenberg/ Magritte. Includes warning letter from Mesens
and Magritte to Herman Closson, Vanderborght, Ramaekers. "Word and Image" about the text written in 1929. Two copies of the
draft of the catalog for the Magritte show, ca. 1952. Letter from George Melly to Magritte, two letters from van Hecke to
Mesens. "Documentation Oeuvres de Magritte," list of works by Magritte, list of works by Magritte sent to MOMA. Invitation
from Iolas Gallery for Magritte show. 5 pp letter from Mesens to Magritte (May 1938). List of three works of Magritte's on
exhibition at Galerie de Seine, 1955. Text "René Magritte ou la revelation objective" contains explanations of several Magritte
paintings. [See also Magritte correspondence files, Series I.]
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De vier hoofdpunten van het Surrealism (catalog), Antwerp, 1956
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Catalogue drafts, mock-up, proof and other documents related to this catalog (included Magritte, Ernst, Miro and Tanguy) 4
items. Includes the catalogue of the exhibition, the mockup of the catalogue, the text for the catalogue and the first proofs
for the catalogue.
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10 |
Free Painters Group Bulletin
1959, 1961
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2 issues. Correspondence from members of this group (FPS), called Free Painters and Sculptors Group at one point, also in
Series I. Correspondence.
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11 |
London Gallery papers, ca. 1945?
23 pp
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Lists of art works with prices, sales receipts, misc. notes, artwork/mock-up for printed card. |
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12 |
London Gallery papers, ca. 1936-1947 |
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Schedule of exhibitions 1936-1937 and notes about planned publications, 5 pp. London Gallery news, Dec 1946 issue; handwritten text of Mesens's lecture (c.25 pp.) for the opening of Exposition des jeunes Belges, 1937.
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Bulletins de vente, for works sold by Mesens 1931-1936
2 items
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20 Nov 1935 to Feb 1935; 2 Dec 1935 to 4 May 1936. |
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14 |
Documents related to the Prix Marzotto 1964 29 items |
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Includes several letters from the secretary of the foundation and from Emile Langui who supported Mesens's contribution. Mesens
sent 3 collages but did not win any prize.
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folder |
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1 |
List of disposition of Mesens/Eluard collaboration, Alphabet Sourd Aveugle
ca.15 pp
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500 copies, only nrs. 323-500 extant |
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2 |
Papers relating to Permeke |
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Lists and texts for Permeke exhibit Les Paroles et les actes, ca. 11 pp; "Affaire Permeke/Van de Woestijne contre 'L'Art Vivant'" (31 pp).
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Le Surréalisme en plein soleil |
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mock-up of manifesto no. 1, Oct. 1946. Letter from Mesens to Magritte, Marien, Nougé in which he states that he refuses to
sign the manifesto. Text, "5 receipes" by A. Breton, T. Tzara.
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Andre Breton, "Black Light" |
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mss, 8 pp corrected for printing and printed proof (Engl. transl. by Simon Watson Taylor) |
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Assorted documents about exhibitions, n.d. |
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Includes list of painters and sculptors represented in Catalysis and Four projects, lists of paintings in storage at the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, list of critics invited to respond to Living Italian artists, London Surrealist Group post-war reunion.
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Assorted documents about shipping and lending paintings, 1934-1959
14 items
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Includes invoices, lists. |
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7 |
Autobiographical documents
16 pp
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Includes three autobiographical sketches and a text on Mesens by P.G. van Hecke. Also letterhead. |
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8 |
Address lists
12 items
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One address list from the 1930s; one of galleries in Paris, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland; one of journals and reviews
in Europe; one of Belgian publications; one of people in England; one of photographers in Paris; one for sending invitations
for a show in Turin.
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Mesens's address book, perhaps from 1920s |
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10 |
Personal documents
8 items
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Includes authorisation from the English government for Mesens to remain in England (1940). List of things to do. A citation
that states that Mesens disrupted a 1926 presentation of a theaterpiece by Cocteau.
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Inventories of Mesens's art work ca. 1939-1970
20 pp
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Inventory of collages before 1939; inventory of collages 1955-1958; inventory of collages 1961-1962; inventory of collages
in collections in Belgium; list of collages for the exhibit at the museum in Arnhem; 1970 list of Mesens's works in catalogs;
list (5 works) of collages bought by Renato Cardazzo in Venice.
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London Bulletin manuscripts
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1 |
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London Bulletin printed broadsides
3 items
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Manuscripts
32 items
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Includes poems and prose by Charles Henri Ford (1), George Melly (7 poems), Saki, i.e.,H. H. Munro (3 mss), Gisèle Prassinos,
Camille Bryen (4 poems), Ainslee Ellis (3), F. J. Brown (2), Simon Watson Taylor, Morris Gilbert, Edith Remmington, Conroy
Maddox.
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Manuscripts
40 items
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Includes 33 poems by Sadi Cherkeshi. Also prose by Fernand Demoustier (1934, 13 pp). Poems by Nicholas Moore, Frederick Holst,
Edgar Foxall.
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Manuscripts
14 items
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Includes poems by Norman Mc Caig (4 poems), A. C. Sewter (4 poems, 1937-1938), Ruthven Todd (2 poems), J. D. Britton, Stella
Snead (3 poems, 1936-1939).
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Manuscripts
16 items
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A poem and a manuscript, titled "Just a Short Story," by Antonio Pedro, and materials by Valentine Penrose, Serge Ninn, Aimé
Césaire, Paul Eluard, Hubert Dubois, René Guilly, Jean Grimau, Irène Hamoir, Leo Malet, "Vasari," Frank Baker.
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Manuscripts
12 items
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Prose mss by Conroy Maddox, n.d.. Poems and essays (1 dated 1938) by Marcel Mariën include 1 prose poem with drawing of a
hand, 10pp. Poem, "an investigation of happiness" is signed Georg with drawing of an eye and includes a note to Mesens. An
essay on surrealism, 3 pp, typed with ink corrections, is signed by Cesar Moro and accompanied by a publication announcement
for a book of Moro's poems.
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Manuscripts
7 items
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"The Paralyzing Apparition of the Honorius Anger Ball of 1884" by Montagu O'Reilly (1939), "Physique amusante" by Paul Nougé
(1926), "Pléonasmes vicieux," and "René Magritte ou la Révélation Objective" by Nougé, several letters from Nougé. [See also
Series I. Correspondence, for letters from Nougé.]
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Manuscripts
14 items
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"Biography of Apollo" by George Barker, two poems by Frederick Brockway, "Art, Artists and Art Critics" by Jaya Deva, two
poems by J. F. Hendry, "Dear Sir!!" by Reuben Mednikoff, "Suburban Nights" by Robert Melville, 7 poems by Nicholas Moore,
"Apollo" by Kathleen Raine, pages 7, 9, 11, and 13 of text by Jean Scutenaire on automatism, and a text by Laurance Vail.
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Manuscripts of Jacques Brunius 1940s |
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Poems: "Lendemain d'incendie," "Carrefour Inachevé," 4 poems from 1942-1943: "Hallaliberté" (1943), "In Hoc Gigno Vinces"
(1944), "Vois tu?" (1942), "Les Cinq sens" (1943). Prose mss include: "Le Tournoi" (1943), "Danger de Mort"(1940), "Sans Dieu
ni diable" (30 pp).
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Manuscripts of Roland Penrose
3 items
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Three copies (one typed and two handwritten, translated from English by Mesens) of "La route est plus large que longue" (
Journal d'un voyage dans les Balkans, Juillet-Aout 1938).
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Manuscripts: London Bulletin
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1 |
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Manuscripts
22 items
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15 poems by Jean Vidal, negative comments on Hayden, Exler, de la Fresnaye, Metzinger, Malevitch, Marcoussis, Gleizes and
Delaunay by unidentified author, text by P.G. van Hecke on de Smet, 1953. Five poems by unidentified authors.
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Manuscripts
9 items
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Samuel Beckett: "Match Nul ou L'amour Paisible" and a poem, "Oceans..." (1922) by Léonard Pieux, "Le Front Rouge" (1931, 14
pp) by Louis Aragon, draft editorial for Transformation and a letter to the French surrealist group L'Archibras. Text by Fernand Demoustier on a witch, M. L. and J. Majoux: "Sur
la Situation faite a l'enseignement en France." "Jeux de Mots" by Arturo Schwarz (11 pp).
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Manuscript: Pablo Picasso's play in six acts: "Desire caught by the tail"
29 pp
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4 |
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Manuscripts
12 items
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Includes: Several poems by unidentified authors, two poems by Dorian Cooke;"Weisst du Schwarzt du" by Hans Arp, "Four Etudes
for the eleventh finger" by Sherry Mangan, Parker Tyler's "Dali and Cinema" (1939), "The Human Sundial" (description of a
mural by John Banting). One page mock-up for title page of journal, unidentified.
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Manuscripts
8 items
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Two patriotic poems (1918) by Gaston Swinne plus "Arme Kleinen" by Swinne. "Champagne" by unidentified author and three texts
on painters (Delaunay, Wassily Kandinsky, Hartung, Atlan, Lapicque, Deyrolle, Dewasne, Schneider, Chauvin) by unidentified
author.
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6 |
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Manuscripts
12 items
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Nine poems by George Melly, two texts on Mesens and Modern art by George Melly. Mss. on Soviet realism, c. 1938-1939, 10 pp. |
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Manuscript
1 item
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Roger de Leval, "Lettre pour un Rhetoricien" in galley, 1931, 5 pp. |
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Manuscripts
6 items
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Philippe Robert-Jones address at the exhibition, Un demi-siecle de mecenat, 1967, 2 versions, French and Dutch. "Archives de l'art contemporain en Belgique," 1962 (typed report by Robert-Jones). "Surrealism
Now" by John Lyle and Ian Breakwell, 1970, 7 pp. "Hé : là...rastreins..." 1941, 3 pp war-time speech by ? "Foyes á incendie"
for Nicholas Calas, 1939, handwritten appreciation by unidentified author.
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