AN OUTSTANDING IMPRESSION OF THIS IMPORTANT DRYPOINT FROM THE LEGENDARY VOLLARD SUITE, FROM THE COLLECTION OF HENRI M. PETIET.
Picasso created the 100 intaglio prints of the Vollard Suite in the 1930s. Vollard, the publisher, died in 1939 and his estate was purchased by Henri M. Petiet. Most of the prints were still unsigned, and Petiet paid Picasso to sign some of them, but many were still unsigned when the artist died in 1973. His heirs came to Sylvan Cole (our founder, and dean of American print dealers during the second half of the 20th century.) He advised them to mark them with an estate stamp to confirm their authenticity and at the same time make it impossible for anyone to add a spurious signature. Picasso's heirs refused because dealers, who were buying these prints in bulk, didn't want an estate stamp. Needless to say, many Vollard Suite prints circulating nowadays bears doubtful signatures.
This impression is unsigned and features Petiet's virtually invisible blindstamp in the lower right corner, well away from the image, right near the edge of the sheet. It is an outstanding impression, in perfect condition, of one of the very first prints from the Suite.
Printed on fine Montval laid paper with Vollard's and Picasso's signatures as the watermarks.
In perfect condition.
