CARL VAN VECHTEN - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 09/28/1958 - HFSID 84739

CARL VAN VECHTEN
He signs a typed letter (1958) expressing his desire to avoid relatives.
Typed Letter signed: "Carlo", 1 page, 5½x6½. New York, N.Y., 1958 September 28. On persomal letterhead to "Dear Doris" . In full: "How different we are in our attitude to relatives. I spend a good deal of time keeping out of the way of mine and you welcome new examples. However, I am not allergic to other people's relatives and will be delighted to meet yours when occasion offers. The story is fabulous and so bursting with coincidences that it is almost unique. The painters get out tomorrow, but there is still an enormous amount to do before we get 'settled.' Still I have found time to take a few pictures and write a book review. We dine with Brett tomorrow, here briefly on her way to Europe. Love to all. September 28, 1958 (or 5719 if you prefer). Is Quintero back?" Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964) was a writer, music and dance critic, and portrait photographer who joined the staff of the New York Times in 1906. he published several collections of essays and 7 novels. He was an avid promoter of the black artists and intellectuals represented in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, but his best-selling novel [Explicit] Heaven (1926) proved controversial, for its portrayal of Harlem life as well as for its title. From the 1930s onward, Van Vechten's primary interest was in photography; many literary and artistic figures posed for his camera. His longtime friend Gertrude Stein, for whom he became literary executor, said that "… having your photograph taken by Carl Van Vechten was a sure sign that you were 'somebody'." Fold crease, not near signature. Fine condition.