Lot 54

Joseph Cornell, Typed Note Signed, "Arpingly yours, / Joseph," in blue pencil, with a small Hans Arp-like collage to MoMA curator Monroe Wheeler. 1958.

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Joseph Cornell, Typed Note Signed, "Arpingly yours, / Joseph," in blue pencil, with a small Hans Arp-like collage to MoMA curator Monroe Wheeler. 1958.

Estimate: $600 - $900

Current Bid: $650

(3 Bids)

by Swann Auction Galleries
August 13, 2026 10:30 AM EDT
Live Auction
104 East 25th Street
New York, NY, US 10010

Joseph Cornell
1903-1972
Typed note, with collage, signed in blue pencil. 1958.

Typed Note Signed, "Arpingly yours, / Joseph," in blue pencil, with a small Hans Arp-like collage, to MoMA curator Monroe Wheeler, reporting safe arrival [of a gift?] and noting that there is an enclosure [i.e., the collage]. ½ page, 4to, onion skin paper; sender name and date of receipt typed [presumably by recipient] at upper edge, address panel clipped from mailing envelope and collage stapled to letter at lower or right edge, faint offsetting from collage at upper right, folds.

The collage, a fragment from an article on European fabric clipped from a newspaper, into which three holes have been punched, on which the (inverted) words "temoignage d'atelier" have been typed at lower edge, and on which an organic shape surrounding the three punch holes has been painted in blue ink. 3¼x3½ inches; enclosed by clear plastic sleeve and attached to letter by two pairs of staples at lower and right edges.

Np, 6 November 1958.

  • Provenance: "Bird, cloud, shirt shapes, etc. etc. etc. arrived safely to the accompaniment of flashings of bluejays, screechings et al."
  • Condition: Please contact the Specialist for the auction to request a condition report.

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