Lot number 3818 - Auction 150
AUTOGRAPH

FRANZ VON DEFREGGER 1835 Iselsberg-Stronach - 1921 Munich AUTOGRAPH Ink on paper, with addressed envelope. 18 x 14.5 cm / 9.5 x 15.5 cm. Browned, stained, partially damaged, remnants of mounting. "München, 16. Juni - Sehr geehrte Frau! Nachdem ich seit einem halben Jahr nicht mehr malen kann, und mir die Leute alles was noch an Vorrat noch da war abnahmen, so bin ich jetzt leider nicht mehr in der Lage Ihnen zu dienen. Bei den hiesigen Händlern sei auch nichts mehr zu haben wie mir einige Herrn versicherten die für sich etwas erwerben wollten. Also müssen wir warten bis es meinen Augen wieder besser geht, vielleicht werden Sie noch einmal so gut, daß ich wieder arbeiten kann, dann bin ich gern bereit Ihnen ein Bildchen zu liefern. Achtungsvoll ergebenst Defregger." "Munich, June 16 - Dear Madam! Since I haven't been able to paint for half a year, and people have taken everything I had left in stock, I am unfortunately no longer able to serve you. There's nothing left at local dealers, as several gentlemen assured me, who wanted to purchase something for themselves. So we'll have to wait until my eyesight improves. Perhaps you'll get better enough for me to work again, and then I'll be happy to send you a small painting. Yours sincerely, Defregger." The envelope is addressed to "Captain Kreidl, Sarajevo, Teresia ul. 69, Austria" and bears a postmark of May (19)08 (?), so it probably doesn't belong to the letter dated June, especially since the letter is addressed to a woman. From 1900 onward, Defregger began to suffer from cataracts, which increasingly limited the artist's ability to work, to which the content of the letter refers.