Paul Gauguin (1848-1903)
Autograph letter signed ('P. Gauguin') to [Camille] Pissarro, n.p., n.d. [c.1883]
In French. One page, 190 x 137mm. Provenance: Sotheby's, 29 & 30 April 1980, lot 312.

'I used to be a sailor and I adapt to everything very easily': Gauguin writes to Pissarro about an insurance policy, the cost of living, the purchase of a picture frame and an impending visit. Gauguin encloses (no longer present) papers relating to a new insurance policy for Pissarro to sign, noting that he has pencilled the word 'signature' in the relevant places: a marginal note gives the details of the papers. He had forgotten to mention that 'one of our employees' left the year before to set up as a wine wholesaler in Meaux, and finds that the cost of living like the food was more expensive than in Paris; he had also forgotten to ask whether Pissarro had ordered a frame – if not, he is happy to do it instead ('Une toile de 8 je crois'); and Pissarro is to tell him whether he is to come to Osny so that he can make the necessary arrangements, adding 'Tell Madame Pissarro that I used to be a sailor and I adapt to everything very easily' ('Dites à Mad[am]e Pissarro que j’ai été marin et que je m’accommode de tout très facilement’).

Gauguin's friendship with Pissarro dates from the early 1870s, when he was still a stockbroker's accountant and used to paint in Pissarro's garden on Sundays. The relationship became particularly close in the years 1882-3, when Gauguin was in transition from his former commercial life to a full-time dedication to art and spent much time painting with Pissarro: the reference to Osny dates the letter to after December 1882, when the Pissarros moved house there from the adjacent town of Pontoise, and before March 1884 when they moved again to Éragny-sur-Epte: the insurance policy may perhaps be for the new house.