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an old black and white photo of a man in a suit and bow tiea close up of a piece of paper with writing on it
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118 - [Henri MICHAUX]. Claude CAHUN. Portrait of Henri Michaux.
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Estimate €4,000 - €6,000
Sale commission
Description
[Henri MICHAUX]. Claude CAHUN. Portrait of Henri Michaux. [1925]. Period photograph (17.8 x 12.9 cm), mounted in a passe-partout. A rare photographic portrait of Henri Michaux by Claude Cahun. Autograph inscription signed on the reverse: To my friend Claude Cahun with the warmest regards from Henry Michaux The subject’s dedication to the photographer is unusual – just as their relationship was unusual. Lucy Schwob (1894–1954), Marcel Schwob’s niece, began writing in the 1920s under the pseudonym Claude Cahun. She was closely associated with Surrealist circles, particularly with André Breton. “Michaux met her in 1925, through their mutual friend Jacques Viot, to ask her to contribute to the issue of *Le Disque vert* on dreams” – the beginning of a unique friendship between the young woman and the man she nicknamed the ‘cat-snake’. “Claude Cahun gave Michaux English lessons. They attended classes together at Sainte-Anne Hospital. An extraordinary photographer, who approached the self-portrait in a way that must have impressed Michaux, Cahun also took two of the earliest known photographs of him, including the astonishing double portrait from 1925” (Michaux, Œuvres complètes I, Pléiade, pp. 1267–1268). Cahun used these photographs for one of the photomontages in her book *Aveux non avenus*. The print appeared in a sales catalogue by Binoche and Giquello (Claude Oterelo, expert) on 25 March 2016, lot 80, described as: “Contemporary silver print by Claude Cahun […]. Previously unpublished photograph.” Crease marks at the corners. (Leperlier, *L’écart et la métamorphose*, 1992, p. 260.—*Don’t kiss me, the Art of Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore*, 2006, p. 172.)
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About the sale Henri Michaux, the Sven Pitsey collection
Auction location
Auction time 10/29/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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