BENOIS, Albert. Series of 212 autograph letters and postcards, the majority to the artist’s daughter Marie Tcherepnine from Petrograd, Saint-Paul, Compiègne, Arcachon, Paris, Nice and elsewhere, 14 September 1923 – 23/24 March 1936, with over 80 original watercolours incorporated in the text; 62 condolence letters (some typed) addressed to the Tchérépnine family upon Benois' death, 18 May 1936-23 March 1940.

The Benois family is remembered as one of the most significant artistic dynasties in Russia in the 19th and 20th centuries. A native of France, Louis Jules Benois (1770-1822) moved to St Petersburg to serve as ‘maître d'hôtel’ at the court of Paul I (1754-1801). His third son, Nicholas (1813-1898), whose godmother was Empress Maria Feodorovna (1759-1828), was a talented linguist and artist. With the assistance of his godmother he enrolled at the Imperial Academy of Art at the age of 14, going on to become chief architect at Peterhof and subsequently court architect to Nicholas I (1796-1855). In 1856 Nicholas was awarded the order of St Vladimir, fourth class, an honour accompanied with the elevation to noble status for himself and his issue. Nicholas had nine children, five of whom followed in their father's artistic footsteps, including Alexandre (1870-1960) and Albert (1852-1936).
Albert, equally gifted in the fields of music and fine art, studied architecture at the Imperial Academy of Arts but watercolours became his true passion. He studied this technique under Luigi Premazzi (1814-1891) and his excellence in this medium was recognised by two gold medals and a grant to travel to Europe. On his return, he was awarded the title of Academician and began to teach watercolour painting at the Academy. In 1895 he was appointed a curator of the Russian Museum and after the Russian Revolution moved to the Museum of Decorative Arts where he worked until his emigration to Paris in 1924.
His daughter Marie inherited her father’s passion for music and became a mezzo-soprano opera singer. In 1897 she married Nikolai Tcherepnin (1873-1945), who was a prominent pianist, composer and conductor. Tcherepnin studied under Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) and later in his career taught at the St Petersburg Conservatory and conducted at the Mariinsky Theatre. Their son Alexander (1899-1977) also pursued a career in music as a composer and pianist. Following the Revolution the family fled, initially to Georgia before settling in France in 1921.
This collection of Albert Benois' letters covers the period from 1923 until the artist's death in 1936. The first few letters addressed to his daughter Marie were sent from Petrograd, when the artist was already in his 70s, complaining about his weak health and preparing to move to France. In February 1924 he was granted permission to enter France for a family reunion. The correspondence resumes in 1927 when Albert settled in St Paul, later moving to Compiégne, Arcachon, Paris and Nice. In his letters, Albert tells his daughter about his daily routine, financial constraints, future exhibition plans and frequently enquires about his grandson Alik's (Alexandre) achievements in art and music (Alik was studying the violin). Many of the letters are enlivened by charming watercolours often related to their content; in a letter dated 6 March 1928 to his brother Alexandre, Albert proudly describes a beautiful watch given to him by Marie and illustrates his description with a watercolour. A unique collection, which also contains a number of letters of condolence sent to the Tcherepnin family after Albert’s death, the letters unveil the intimate relationship between the artist, his beloved daughter Marie (to whom he wrote to nearly every day), his lively grandson and his younger brother.