| Legion of Honor Reva and David Logan Gallery of Illustrated Books | Kahnweiler, Editieur: Illustrated Books Published by The Legendary French Art Dealer Through May 25, 2008 |
The fi rst installment of this article, which covered the years prior to World War I, appeared in the Winter 2008 Newsletter.
Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler (1884? 1979) was in Rome with his wife and family when World War I erupted. His life, business, and sympathies were French, and he refused to return to Germany. As a German citizen he could not return to France, but he was able to live in Switzerland during the Great War. While there he wrote Der Weg zum Kubismus (1920), the first scholarly monograph on Cubism.
Kahnweiler returned to France in 1920. The contents of his gallery, which had been seized by the French government as enemy property, were sold cheaply at a series of auctions from 1921 to 1923. Despite this severe fi nancial loss, Kahnweiler and his partner Andr? Simon were able to resume business as Galerie Simon, and the new enterprise survived. In 1924 Kahnweiler?s sister-in-law, Louise Godon, who later married the poet Michel Leiris (1901?1990), joined the gallery staff. She was an active participant in the gallery, eventually becoming the manager of the business.
Remarkably, Kahnweiler was able to publish six books in 1921. Lunes en papier (1921), the first book by Andr? Malraux (1901?1976),2 was illustrated by Fernand L?ger (1881?1955), while woodcuts by George Braque (1882?1963) illustrated composer Erik Satie?s (1866?1925) one act play Le Pi?ge de Meduse (1921). Two other volumes from 1921 were illustrated by Maurice de Vlaminck (1876?1958) and Henri Laurens (1885?1954). It was during the 1920s that Kahnweiler formed a close friendship with Juan Gris (1887? 1927), and the current exhibition includes Raymond Radiguet?s (1903?1923) Denise (1924) illustrated by Gris.
Note: This is an abridged version of the article found the Spring, 2008 Newsletter
David-Henry Kahnweiler stands with painting by Picasso.