AUGUSTE RODIN - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 02/15/1915 - HFSID 82842

AUGUSTE RODIN. ALS:"Auguste Rodin", 2¼p, 6½x8½. 25 Via Gregoriana, Rome, 1915 February 5. To Mrs. Mary W. Harriman. In French, with translation. In full: "The letter which I received in Rome, your letter, is very useful to give me joy, and to appease my worries. I know thus that the bust has arrived with Miss Greysby, who took it and conducted it with the greatest care. Miss Greysby was a member of the committee of the exhibition at the Duke of Westminster's, and never lost sight of it, when I was away for one month. It is a permission of Providence, that this bust carried to London to His Grace the duke, it was protected by the Museum of the Queen; Kensington where it was exhibited, among the works that I had given to England, until the day it left the bust at Kensington, has been regarded by the artists and the writers. At the Duke's residence a month before, it was in the approbation of Her Majesty the Queen, the Queen Alexandra and the dowager Queen of Russia. They have been benevolent graces for the bust and for my sculptures. Thus your letter has gratified me. Your solicitude so great in Paris so that, the bust of your dear and illustrious husband, be also to your liking, to your memory, had perfectly succeeded. Your advice came in due time, wanted, and your great kindness in guiding me and giving me freedom has filled me with gratitude. Miss Malvina Hoffemann (sic) has brought me near you, dear Madame, a good service and I am happy to thank in your presence this great artist although very young. Accept Madame the expression of my great esteem and of my profound and devoted affection." Handwritten postscript: "P.S. I have been advised that I will have a letter from You Dear Madame sometime and I myself have the honor of writing you regarding the little payment of the other overlooked sketches if you see fit." MARY HARRIMAN was the widow of Edward Henry Harriman (1848-1909), an American businessman known for his ability to revitalize dying railroad companies. AUGUSTE RODIN had found prestige with his masterpieces The Thinker (1880) and The Kiss (1886), making him in great demand to create sculptures of famous people. He had painted a portrait of Harriman while the American was visiting Europe in the summer of 1909 and had used this painting and a photograph to sculpt a bust of Harriman, who had died shortly after his return to the U.S. Rodin chose this bust and 18 other bronze and marble works to display at an exhibition held in July 1914 at Grosvenor House, the residence of the Duke of Westminster. At this time, royal family members were mourning the deaths of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungry and his wife, Archduchess Sophie. Rodin attended the exhibit and returned to France shortly thereafter, but the outbreakof WWI in August 1914 forced him and his mistress, Rose Beuret, to flee to Great Britain on the first of September. Since the war prevented him from shipping his works back to France, the sculptures were transported to the newly established Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, where they were exhibited for a second time. Ultimately, Rodin donated all the pieces, except the Harriman bust, to Great Britain. MALINA HOFFMAN (1887-1966) was one of his protégés and assisted Rodin with his artistic projects. Slight show through of ink on first page. Fine condition. Frame has minor surface chips on front.  Framed to an overall size of 44¾x24.