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Charles Ratton 81 The exhibitions and sales that Charles Ratton produced all throughout his life were a means by which he sought to promulgate recognition of non-European art. An overview of the most important dates is presented by Maureen Murphy: 1930: This was the year of the Art Africain et Océanien exhibition at the Galerie du Théâtre Pigalle. We chose to represent this event with the Gou statue, now at the Musée Dapper, to illustrate the debate on the perception of these objects. According to hitherto unpublished information supplied to us by Guy Ladrière, Ratton modified the sculpture by having its genitals altered in order to make it conform to the norms of decency at the time. 1931: Several paradoxical events took place in this year. On the one hand, there were the Exposition Coloniale at the Bois de Vincennes and the Exposition Ethnographique des Colonies Françaises at the Musée d’Ethnographie du Trocadéro, and Ratton lent works to both exhibitions. On the other hand, it was also the year of the Contre Exposition Coloniale, which was produced by Surrealist artists to whom Ratton felt intellectually close. Also, in July of that year, Ratton was the expert for the sale of the Breton and Éluard Collections as well as for the sale of the Georges de Miré Collection in December. 1932: Ratton was chosen to organize one of the first exhibitions at the Musée du Trocadéro: Bronzes et Ivoires du Bénin (Bronzes and Ivories of Benin). This event confirmed his expertise in the area and was evidence of his deep interest in courtly art. 1935: Ratton exported his know-how to the United States and participated in the creation of the African Negro Art exhibition at New York’s MOMA. He also worked in conjunction with Pierre Matisse on African Sculptures from the Ratton Collection. Still in 1935 but now back in his Paris gallery, Ratton produced the Masques et Ivoires Anciens de l’Alaska et de la Côte Nord-Ouest (Ancient Masks and Ivories from Alaska and the Northwest Coast) exhibition, which drew the attention of the Surrealists and with which he was once again able to heighten and enhance knowledge of non-European art. 1936: This was the year of the Exposition Surréaliste d’Objets (Exhibition of Surrealist Objects) at Ratton’s gallery, which juxtaposed North American Indian and Oceanic objects with creations by Surrealist artists. 1937: La Mode au Congo (Fashion in the Congo), which consisted of antique Congolese headdresses and ornaments, was held at Ratton’s gallery. For the occasion, Man Ray, with whom Ratton had been in contact for some time, was enlisted to do a series of portraits of his friend Adrienne Fidelin wearing the exhibited works. In the same year—and this was brought to light by our research—Ratton organized an exhibition at the Théâtre Edouard VII to accompany the release in France of the American film Green Pastures, which was a vision of the Bible played by African-American actors. Lenders to this exhibition included Helena Rubinstein, Félix Fénéon, Jacques Lipchitz, and Tristan Tzara, among others. 1944: Ratton met Jean Dubuffet, whom he introduced to African sculpture and with whom he would have close relations until the end of the 1950s. He played a key role in the construction of the notion of the “Art Brut” movement. 1951–1953: Ratton acted as a scientific consultant and as a lender in the creation of the documentary film Les Statues Meurent Aussi (The Statues Also Die), produced by Alain Resnais and Chris Marker at the request of Alioune Diop on behalf of Présence Africaine. FIG. 12: Portrait of Charles Ratton, by Studio Harcourt, 1930s. Ex Charles Ratton. Guy Ladrière, Paris. © Musée du Quai Branly. Copy photo: Claude Germain. Left to right FIG. 13: Cover of the catalog for the exhibition at MOMA in 1935. © Musée du Quai Branly. Photo: Claude Germain. FIG. 14: Catalog and guestbook for Exposition surréaliste d’objets in 1936. Charles Ratton Archives. Guy Ladrière, Paris. © Musée du Quai Branly. Photo: Claude Germain. FIG. 15: Cover of the catalog for the sale of the Breton and Éluard Collections, 1931.


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