The Collection of Marie Bell: A Woman of the French Art Scene

Marie Bell, whose real name was Marie-Jeanne Bellon-Downey, was a child of the 20th century born on Christmas Eve, 1900. She finally left the stage in 1985. She blazed through this period rich in artistic invention, participating in the birth of cinema—first silent movies, then the 'talkies'— and becoming a well-known figure on the stage. A stalwart of the Comédie-Française at the age of 21 (France's only national theater founded in 1680), she became a member in 1927, then an honorary member in 1948. She played the main roles in the classical repertoire, and her performance as Phèdre made history. With a passion for masterpieces of the stage, she used "her golden voice, warmth and dramatic intensity to embody tragic roles" (Christine de Rivoyre, Le Monde, October 1951), while also receptive to plays by the contemporary writers she knew, many of whom were her friends. A secret treasure nourished by fifty years of artistic encounters, her collection and library are about to be unveiled to the public. It will take more than three sales to raise the curtain on this fascinating ensemble.   Prosper Mérimée (1803-1870) and Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Le Carmen des Carmen , Paris, 1949, one volume in ff. in a cardboard cover, one of 30 copies on japan nacre paper edited by Louis Aragon, accompanied by an original drypoint, 4 aquatints and 4 signed etchings by Picasso and the same etchings, unsigned. Estimate: €20,000/30,000 Picasso Estate, 2022 Evoking the Theater The auction house asked Jean-Jacques…