M.L.S. Chanukah card to Dorothy Commins from Benjamin Benno [1971]

by (Benjamin Benno)

$250 · Offered by Biblio

Signed

1971. Black and white card with description text on inside, note written in black ink in the hand of the artist and signed on outside; overall near fine card and interesting association piece. Benjamin Benno (b.1901 - d.1980) was an American artist affiliated with the avant-garde movement. Before the outbreak of World War II he spent several influential years living in Paris, but in 1939 Benno fled to New York with other exiled artists. Though his fame dwindled as he aged, the work he produced is a testament to his talents. Dorothy Commins was a concert pianist and author, and was the widow of renowned Random House editor Saxe Commins (b.1892 - d.1958). He was an editor for Random House from 1933 to 1957 for many writers such as Eugene O'Neill, Theodore Drieser, Sinclair Lewis, W.H. Auden, Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen) and William Faulkner (who would stay at their house), and Budd Schulberg among others. Because of this they had a wide network of famous friends in the arts that remained close with Dorothy after Saxe's death. In 1978 Dorothy Commins' biography of Saxe Commins, 'What is an Editor?' was released. This Chanukah card bears reproduction of one of Benno's 1936 drawings from Gertrude Stein's collection and a warm holiday message in the hand of the artist.

• Year: 1971
• Binding: unknown

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