Acquisition of a drypoint by Helleu

On Wednesday 2 October 2019, the Société des Amis de Marcel Proust acquired at public auction, at Drouot, a drypoint by Paul César Helleu. This work enriches the collections of the Maison de Tante Léonie, in Illiers-Combray. The sale catalogue did not specify who the lady depicted in this drawing was, but Jean-Yves Tadié identified her as Mme Helleu, the painter's wife, who, like her husband, was a friend of Proust's. This drypoint thus illustrates the artist's fashionable society style, while also offering the portrait of a lady whom Proust knew well. Until now, the association held only one other drypoint by Helleu, of a quite different kind: the portrait of Proust on his deathbed, which can currently be seen at the Galerie Gallimard in Paris, as part of the exhibition « Marcel Proust, prix Goncourt 1919 ».

Élyane Dezon-Jones and Anne Imbert have written a short brochure presenting this drypoint and its significance for our association; it is available free of charge by clicking on this link.