eugene-berman-russian-american-1899-1972-illustrated-autograph-letter-signed
Lot 185
Eugene Berman (Russian/American, 1899-1972), Illustrated Autograph Letter Signed
Lot Details & Additional Photographs
"Gene", Villa Carlotta, Hollywood, California, April 4, n.d. (1954?), being a thank you letter, mostly in French, to "Pousette" (a nickname or in-joke) that possibly foretells the February 1955 suicide death of Berman's wife, actress Ona Munson, who played "Belle Watling" in Gone With the Wind. The letter lapses into an odd English-French mix, mentioning "...des over doses de 'sleeping - pills -", when it is known that Munson intentionally took a fatal dose of barbiturates at the end. The first page carries a drawing of a sculpted bust with text beneath on a scroll while the second page has a satirical drawing, titled "vue arrière d'un poosi" ("rear view of a poosie") that depicts a walking cat seen from behind. Presented in a two-sided molded plastic or resin frame.

Sight size 10 x 8 in.; Frame dimensions 16-1/2 x 14-1/4 in.

From the Personal Collection of Mr. William Ivey Long, Seaboard, North Carolina and New York, New York

Good estate condition; not examined out of the frame.