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Unique piece of art historical ephemera. This is a stamped, postmarked postcard from Dusseldorf Germany dated 19 September 1979, handwritten by Carl Andre to his parents Mr. and Mrs. G.H. Andre in Massachusetts. It was acquired from the collection of Andre's parents - Mr. and Mrs. George Hans Andre. (Andre famously attended Phillips Exeter Academy in Massachusetts, his home state, as did another famous alum - Frank Stella, though they would not actually meet until years later). The image of postcard depicts a different German city - which Andre acknowledges in the letter. In the 1970s, Minimalist Art was the rage - perhaps more so in Europe than the US, and Andre loved to travel to Europe. Andre's letter, not unexpectedly, is written in the artist's quintessential laconic style - in all caps. What's also cool is that Andre refers to his longtime, loyal dealer, the legendary German dealers Konrad and Dorothee Fischer, champions of Conceptual and Minimalist art. In fact, Carl Andre, Sol Lewitt and Bruce Naumann all had their first European shows with Konrad Fischer, who sadly died in 1995 at the young age of only 57. The letter reads in ALL CAPS. (Berta and Kasper by the way are the Fischers' children):
19 Sep '79, Dusseldor 9:00 p.m. DEAR M & G: IT IS VERY PLEASANT TO VISIT DOROTHEE & KONRAD, BERTA & KASPER AGAIN -->THE BAXTERS' THREW A MOST DELIGHTFUL BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR ME ON SUNDAY IN DENHAM - THOMAS IS CERTAINLY A LITTLE GIANT, BOTH FEARLESS AND AMIABLE --> THIS CARD IS OF A VERY PLEASANT CITY WHICH I ONCE VISITED - I LOST MY DUSSELDORF POSTCARDS TODAY IN A BAR WHILE STILL QUITE SOBER - LOVE & BE WELL @
Note: "The Baxters" Andre refers to are his aunt Sylvia Baxter and her British husband Raymond Baxter of Denham, UK. Baxter was a former WWII Spitfire pilot and retired BBC presenter.
Interesting factoid: Andre signed his name with the trademark @ decades before Twitter and the current internet conventions. Kind of eerily prescient.
Another tidbit: This letter was written six years before Andre's ill-fated marriage to Ana Mendieta.
Last Factoid: Andre's present wife is now represented by Fischer Gallery in German
SIGNATURE
Boldly signed in black ink by Carl Andre, with his @ - the artist's trademark signature and logo
PROVENANCE
Acquired from the private collection of Carl Andre's parents, Mr. and Mrs. G.H. Andre of Massachusetts (where Carl was born.)
