- Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti

GIACOMETTI AND MAEGHT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
26 JULY 2010 INFORMATIONS FONDATION MAEGHT 623, chemin des Gardettes 06570 Saint-­‐Paul de Vence 27 June -­‐ 30 November 2010 www.fondation-­‐maeght.com MEDIA CONTACT Flora Mitjavile T + 33 1 44 54 34 82 F + 33 1 44 54 25 50 communication@fondation-­‐
giacometti.fr ABOUT THE FOUNDATION Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti is a French public interest institution, created by governement decree in 2003. The Foundation focuses on promoting, disseminating, preserving and protecting the work of Alberto Giacometti (1901-­‐1966). As the legatee of the artist's widow, Annette Giacometti, the Foundation holds the world's largest collection of works by Alberto Giacometti (over 5,000 works). The Maeght Foundation is currently presenting an exhibition devoted to Alberto Giacometti. The exhibition is entitled “Giacometti & Maeght 1946-­‐1966.” In light of a number of errors that have appeared in the press since the opening of the exhibition, the Alberto & Annette Giacometti Foundation wishes to clarify certain points of particular importance. 1/ It was Pierre Matisse, not Aimé Maeght, who ordered the casting of Giacometti’s first bronze pieces. All of the bronze editions from the twenty-­‐five models created between 1947 and 1950 were started for the exhibitions in New York and were paid for by Pierre Matisse. The artist was able to cast any plaster he wanted to. 2/ Pierre Matisse did not reject as “too difficult” the works created for Chase Manhattan Plaza in New York (Tall Women, Walking Men, Large Head), which were later superbly installed in the courtyard of the Maeght Foundation in 1963 and 1964. On 29 April 1960, after the first castings, it was Giacometti himself who rejected the works, in large part because he had not seen their intended setting (his first trip to New York took place in 1965). He wrote to Pierre Matisse: « The only thing that saddens me is to cause you sadness and to disappoint you.” » The artist’s rejection of these pieces, to which he had devoted an entire year, was total. He only accepted to divulge them to the public and start casting them in 1961. It was thanks to a Walking Man loaned by Pierre Matisse that Giacometti won the prestigious Carnegie Award in 1961 (Pittsburgh International). 3/ Regarding the bronze pieces cast for an installation in the courtyard of the Fondation Maeght and painted by the artist in 1964: is the paint still visible? The color that viewers perceive today is a very beautiful patina (i.e. a rich combination of red and green hues due to corrosion), which is a result of the artist’s decision to install these works outside. The oil paint, which the artist applied with a brush, had not been intended to last in an outdoors setting, nor was it ever protected for that purpose. Only traces of the paint remain visible today (see photos on the Giacometti Foundation website for a comparative study). 4/ Giacometti never gave casts of his works to the Maeght family, but to the Marguerite & Aimé Maeght Foundation. As Giacometti wrote in no uncertain terms to Pierre Matisse regarding his gift to the Maeght Foundation: « The editions do not belong to Mr. Maeght but to the Fondation Marguerite et Aimé Maeght. The foundation is governed by a board of directors that includes three representatives of the government: two delegates from the Ministry of the Interior and one delegate from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. Therefore the Foundation is under the authority and supervision of the State and the sculptures are inalienable property. In the case of a request for a temporary loan of the works belonging to the Foundation, the board of directors must give its approval. » (Alberto Giacometti, 1964) We regret the Maeght Foundation's apparent lack of gratitude for the artist, whose name remains absent from the wall labels of the works he donated. The artist assigned his rights on a bronze cast, and Aimé Maeght paid for the casting. The share that was hence given away by Giaciometti, on a non-­‐commercialized limited edition cast, for instance that of The Nose, is sixty times higher than the cost of the casting in 1964. 4/ In 1947, Giacometti was not without a gallery. Giacometti’s agreement with Pierre Matisse was indeed renewed in the summer of 1946, in preparation for an exhibition that ultimately took place in January 1948 in New YorkjCity, and brought the artist international recognition. 5/ Giacometti joined Galerie Maeght at the end of 1949 and left in 1964. It was thanks to Louis Clayeux, who contacted him in August 1948 and again in November 1949, that Giacometti finally opted for Aimé Maeght’s gallery at the end of 1949. The artist’s first exhibition at the gallery opened in June 1951. In 1964, Giacometti decided to leave the Maeght Gallery , notably because Louis Clayeux’s name was absent from the Maeght Foundation opening speech on 28 July 1964, as it is absent from the current exhibition catalogue (see attached letters from the artist to Mr and Mrs Maeght). Letter of 11 October 1964 Shocked and outraged by your behavior towards my friend Mr. Louis Clayeux, with whom I sympathize entirely, I hereby inform you that my collaboration with you and your gallery will cease as of today, October 11th 1964. I do not wish to meet with you in person, having nothing more to say to you. I ask Mr. Jacques Dupin to take care of settling my current affairs with you and your gallery and I trust that he will accept this request. P.S. I would like to clarify that at this moment, Mr. Louis Clayeux is aware neither of my irrevocable decision nor of this letter that I have just written. Letter of 23 October 1964 Mr. and Mrs. Maeght, It seems that you have not understood either the form or the content of my letter. By behaving as you did towards Clayeux and myself, you absolutely compelled me to write it. After I met with Mrs. Maeght for three hours to tell her what I thought, after your three visits to me during which, surprised by your silence about Clayeux, I was the one who broached the topic, and given your response when I did, it was quite obvious to me there was nothing more to be done. The accusations you leveled against Clayeux in my presence, not to mention those you have voiced elsewhere, made it morally impossible for him to return. At the end of your last visit, when I said: “Clayeux will come back next week and I hope things will resume their normal course to everyone’s satisfaction,” you responded brusquely, “I certainly hope so, as I have quite a few grievances to settle with him.” I replied, “If that’s how you’re going to go about it, then everything is pointless,” upon which you ended the conversation, deeming any further mention of the matter to be “beneath your dignity.” In your opinion, Clayeux must pay for your “omission” in Saint Paul, among other things, and not set foot in the gallery again, which was cause enough for me to leave. You thought that I, on the other hand, could not afford to leave because of everything that tied me to you and your gallery. This was naturally impossible for me to tolerate and, appalled by your tactics, I had no choice but to reclaim my freedom. I regret that your megalomania, your pride and your blindness have led you to distort everything to such an extent, but these are the facts, and there is no going back. Sincerely, Alberto Giacometti Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti Archives © Succession Alberto Giacometti (Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti, Paris & ADAGP, Paris) 2012
Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti Archives © Succession Alberto Giacometti (Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti, Paris & ADAGP, Paris) 2012
Former state (1964) Current state (2009) Photos Annette Giacometti (1964) and Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti (2009) © Succession Alberto Giacometti (Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti, Paris & ADAGP, Paris) 2012 Photos Annette Giacometti (1964) and Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti (2009) © Succession Alberto Giacometti (Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti, Paris & ADAGP, Paris) 2012