Part: 12         Session: 123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536         Page 971972973974975976977978979980981982983984985986987988989990991992993994995996997998 of 1143

except that I thing the Dufy thing is interesting.

Oh, and Matisse! In the twenties, when I first was in the art business with my husband, Paul Reinhart, I went to see him with Pierre Matisse's son. I saw some marvellous pictures in his studio, and I asked the price of one. And Pierre said, “He won't sell it.” I said, “Why not?” in English, to Pierre, as Matisse didn't understand English. And Pierre whispered to me, “He won't sell it because then he would have only the money.” And that's the way I now feel about my paintings by Matisse. I won't sell them because then I would have only the money.

Well, time passed, and my husband, Albert Lasker, adored the paintings by Matisse, and he wanted to go to see Matisse when we were in the south of France in '49. We went with Emory Reeves to visit Matisse, who was then working on the chapel at Fourvanoes. He showed us the plans for the chapel. Albert was very frustrated because he couldn't speak to him, as Matisse knew no English and Albert knew no French. And he started saying something or other about being sorry he was old. Matisse looked at him and said -- he was then about 15 years older than Albert -- “You're a child,’ in French.

At any rate, Albert was very stimulated just by seeing him and being in his presence. He loved seeing him. And Matisse realized he was a great admirer of his. When Albert was ill in 1952, he wrote him a charming letter decorated with flowers,