Alfred Munnings, autograph letter signed. Lengthy four-page ALS, “Alfd Munnings,” 5 x 7 in., January 24, 1946, on his Castle House, Dedham, Essex letterhead, to “Bodkin,” concerning a forthcoming Academy dinner with the Prime Minister and President. Munnings humorously instructs his correspondent that there will be “No state. No speeches – dinner jacket or lounge suit” and stresses secrecy, “please keep it quiet as we do not want it known.” He mentions Picasso and Klee exhibitions, the British Council, and art values, dismissing the Klees as “disgraceful” and remarking on Picassos insured for £105,000. The letter reflects Munnings’s well-known disdain for modern art, a theme he famously returned to in later speeches as President of the Royal Academy.
Accompanied by a complete typed transcript of the letter, 8 x 10.25 in
Sir Alfred Munnings (8 October 1878 – 17 July 1959) is known as having been one of England's finest painters of horses, and as an outspoken critic of Modernism. Engaged by Lord Beaverbrook's Canadian War Memorials Fund after the Great War, he earned several prestigious commissions, which made him wealthy. Between 1912 and 1914 he was a member of the Newlyn School of artists. His work was part of the art competitions at the 1928 Summer Olympics, the 1932 Summer Olympics, and the 1948 Summer Olympics.
With One of a Kind Collectibles LOA.