Lettre autographe signée adressée à Henriette Gomès

Autograph letter signed by Balthus addressed to gallery owner Henriette Gomès. 7 lines, envelope included.
Cross folds inherent to mailing, a small tear to left margin of the letter not touching text, the ink having faded.
"Chassy, mardi (the r and d having smudged)
Ma petite Henriette,
je reçois ce papier mystérieux - si tu trouves un moment pourrais-tu voir de quoi il s'agit ? En toute hâte - Je t'embrasse et André. B." ["My little Henriette, I receive this mysterious paper - if you find a moment could you see what it's about? In great haste - I embrace you and André. B."]
"During the summer of 1952, Balthus found a château in the Nièvre, between Autun and Avallon which he decided to rent and where he settled in the spring of the following year. The means were provided by his dealers, Henriette Gomès, Pierre Matisse and with them a collective of collectors, including Maurice Rheims, Alix de Rotschild and Claude Hersent. They paid him a pension in exchange for his latest paintings which they divided among themselves. The château was severely deteriorated and Balthus lived there modestly in continual restoration work. He had for company, to help him settle in and ensure a presence when he went to Paris, the poet Léna Leclercq, met through Giacometti. The latter remained until spring 1955. Meanwhile, Balthus had begun a love affair with his niece by marriage, Frédérique Tison, daughter from a previous union of his brother Pierre's wife." (Fondation Balthus)