two parts in Paris, with a third at MoMA in New
York in the spring of 2020, which we envision as
a kind of enhanced synthesis of the two Parisian
shows.
T.A.M.: The epilog in New York sounds
incredible.
Isabelle Cahn: We hadn’t even dared dream there
could be an event in the United States. Félix
Fénéon is relatively unknown to the French, let
alone to Americans, even those in the intellectual
circles of New York. It is a source of great
satisfaction to us that we were able to garner the
attention of the responsible parties at MoMA.
That having been said, I think we were also in
the right place at the right time. MoMA had just
received the famous 1890 portrait of Fénéon by
Paul Signac following David Rockefeller’s death
in 2017. The painting embodies Fénéon’s multiple
interests in the arts. Starr Figura, a curator at the
MoMA, became involved in the project, and we
are very thankful for that. Moreover, MoMA and
the Metropolitan Museum of Art both have a
55
FIG. 2 (left):
Flute stopper. Sepik River,
Papua New Guinea.
19th century.
Basketry frame, shells, cassowary
plumes, human hair, boar tusks.
H: 47.5 cm.
Ex Walter Bondy; acquired by F.
Fénéon at the Bondy sale, May 1928,
no. 258; F. Fénéon, no. 207; F. Fénéon.
sale 1947c, no. 17; acquired by
collector Dr. Maurice Girardin, 1947.
Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques
Chirac, Paris, inv. 72.1983.1.1.
Photo © Musée du Quai Branly –
Jacques Chirac, Paris.
FIG. 3 (right):
Heddle pulley. Guro;
Côte d’Ivoire.
19th–early 20th century.
Wood. H: 20.5 cm.
Ex F. Fénéon; Fénéon sale 1947c,
no. 135; acquired by Tristan Tzara,
1947; Morris Pinto; Hubert Goldet;
private New York collection.
Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques
Chirac, Paris, inv. 70.2016.21.2.
© Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques
Chirac, Paris.
FÉLIX FÉNÉON