Wilhelm UHDE

First edition of the catalogue of the work of Henri Rousseau, known as “le Douanier” presented to Galerie Bernheim Jeune & C^ie from 28 October to 9 November 1912.

Rare and very beautiful copy of this brochure of the exhibition of Henri Rousseau's personal works, which greatly contributed to the recognition of the artist after his death two years earlier.

During his lifetime, Henri Rousseau never had the opportunity to exhibit his works individually. In turn, both discredited and acclaimed at the Salon
des Indépendants, to which he contributed for many years, he died relatively alone in September 1910. In the months that followed his death, three exhibitions dedicated to his work were organised in New York, at the Salon des Indépendants and at the famous Galerie Bernheim Jeune in Paris, a legendary place of French avant-garde painting for half a century.
This rare Galerie Bernheim-Jeune catalogue is prefaced by William Uhde, organiser of the exhibition and author of a monograph on the artist published the previous year. This retrospective presented 50 paintings and drawings by Henri Rousseau: “One of the events of the season [...] is the superb exhibition of Henri Rousseau at Berheim-Jeune – such true beauty. I am extremely enthusiastic about these beautiful things – a portrait of a child standing is surely one of the most truly beautiful pictures to be seen anywhere” (letter from Marsden Hartley to the art dealer Alfred Stieglitz, 30 October 1912).
Illustrated brochure comprising reproductions of 4 of Henri Rousseau's works.
To our knowledge, there have not been any copies of this precious catalogue on public sale since 1999.