In 1973, Brazilian artist Flora Morgan -Snell thanked a renowned French art critic who recognized her talent.

• Handwritten letter from Flora Morgan-Snell to Bernard Gauthron.
• 4 pages including 2 drawings, and the envelope.
• In French.
• Paris, June 24, 1973.
• Perfect condition of conservation.
• Single set.

We are often fascinated by famous historical figures who have many talents: the Glorias collection aims to present many of them to Sofia, my daughter, and to you, through autographed documents. There are also famous people who have no talents; they are the new heroes of modern times produced by television and the Internet, whom history will probably forget. But there is another category that I also want to present in this collection: the talents who are not (yet) famous. These are my "bets".

Flora Morgan -Snell (1920 - 2007) is, in my opinion, one of the great artists that Brazil and the world are unaware of or have forgotten. What were her skills? Painting and sculpture, which I discovered one day during my digital wanderings. Her works are ignored in Brazil, although she won major awards such as the Leonard de Vinci, the Salon d'Art Libre in Paris and the Greek Sculpture Prize, exhibited in galleries such as the Bernheim-Jeune and the Museum of Modern Art in France, participated in UNESCO events and organized exhibitions of contemporary Brazilian and foreign artists in Europe.

Writer Clarice Lispector (in her last interview for the magazine Fatos e Fotos, published shortly before her death) tells of her visit to the painter's house: (...) we were received in the ultra-sumptuous apartment by a butler in full uniform. (...). During practically the entire interview (Mrs. Snell) did not stop smiling (...) she was laconic in her answers (...). I have met many artists – painters, sculptors, poets, musicians, novelists – and I can say that Mrs. Snell was the only one who transmitted to me such absolute self-confidence, without a hint of the doubts that occur in those who create art (...)

According to Roberto Ormon who studied his life, The artist grew up in Petrópolis and soon revealed her self-taught nature. Her interest in the human body led her to read anatomy books and watch wrestling championships, where she witnessed the strength and movement that she would later use in her work. When she sought formal study in Rio de Janeiro, the young woman was eventually dismissed from the course. The reason? There was nothing else the teacher could teach her. At the age of 25, she participated in two exhibitions in the former federal capital and married Albert de Moustier, a descendant of the French aristocracy.

Flora moved to Paris, where she established an image as a socialite in a male-dominated environment, such as the jury members at exhibitions who sometimes even imagined that the works were actually by her husband. From a wealthy family, the painter did not depend on selling her paintings to make a living and created them for those who admired her, fulfilling private, institutional and state commissions. Roberto Ormon also tells us where some of her works are in France: the panels that were in the Church of the Trinity are now in the Church of Saint-Michel des Batignolles (Paris, Place Saint-Jean, 17th arrondissement); another panel, called "The Kidnappers of the Sea", was taken to the Centre Les Atlantes, in the city of Les Sables d'Olonne.

In this letter, Flora Morgan -Snell thanks in French an art critic who published an article about her in the French magazine l'amateur d' art (the Art Amateur) which was renowned in France in the 1970s and 1980s. In addition to her absolutely spectacular handwriting (my graphologist friends, what can you tell us?), the artist presents the recipient with two original drawings typical of her work.

Article from Epoca magazine about Flora Morgan-Snell.