85 - Bauhaus - László Moholy-Nagy. Letter with his handwritten signature and a few minor handwritten corrections. Dessau, April 3, 1928. Two pages.

Bauhaus - László Moholy-Nagy. Letter with his handwritten signature and a few minor handwritten corrections. Dessau, April 3, 1928. Two pages. Auction start time: approx. 12:49 (Schedule subject to change) To Erich Buchholz (1891–1972). - Certainly one of the last letters written on Moholy-Nagy’s private Dessau stationery, which bears only his name and the address of the Meisterhaus at the time. At the end of March, his tenure at the Dessau Bauhaus came to an end, and he followed Gropius to Berlin. - An immensely significant letter regarding Moholy-Nagy’s artistic self-conception, in which he defends himself against the accusation—heavily debated at the time in professional and artistic circles—that he had created his photograms only after being inspired by the works of Man Ray. “Since I am not indifferent to what you think of me, I would like to explain the matter of the photogram to you, as objectively as I can. [...] As you know, Ray was the first to publish camera-less photographs. As far as the printing of such works is concerned, it is indeed true. As for the ‘invention,’ I was involved at the same time. In the summer of 1922, in the Rhön, I wrote an article titled ‘Production-Reproduction,’ which I sent to Doesburg/Weimar for publication. He [deleted] published the article in [De Stijl] No. 7/1922. || In this article, I described two experiments [...] At that time, I had not known of similar works by Man Ray [!]. || In the fall of 1922 [...| I met Tzara in Weimar at Doesburg’s [[referring to the world-famous Congress of Constructivists and Dadaists in September 1922]], and Doesburg told him about my article. He mentioned that Man Ray was working on similar experiments and took an interest in my own. [...] I didn’t feel at all bothered by having a “competitor”; on the contrary, it convinced me that I was on the right track with these works and future plans, since I had arrived at them independently of Man Ray. The gramophone story [...] was up in the air, so it must be true [added in handwriting:], I thought. || At that time, the jealous squabbles were in full swing; I didn’t notice anything of the sort for a long time [...] Later I learned (in fact, years later from Muche) that Lissitzky was telling everyone: “I could never have made photograms if he hadn’t shown me Man Ray’s work first.” - Moholy recalls his early friendship with El Lissitzky, but says he “eventually realized that he was a sly one.” - Contrary to the verbose attempts at clarification, he says he is “not so eager for credit these days,” but hopes for an accurate account. - The letter concludes with the summary: “The photogram is neither Man Ray’s invention nor mine. It has long existed in children’s activities. The fun only began with its interpretation. [...] With warm regards also to [sic!] Lucia, yours || Moholy-Nagy.” - The fact that he did not send greetings “from” his wife can be interpreted as a Freudian slip. His letter—which is by no means driven by emotion—completely omits—as does the aforementioned De Stijl article—Lucia Moholy’s equal contribution to the research on photograms. - Enclosure: The article from *Uhu* (February 1928) mentioned by Moholy at the beginning of the letter as an enclosure, which identifies Moholy as the inventor of photograms. - From the estate of Erich Buchholz. His studio on Berlin’s Landwehr Canal—“today an open space between the Bauhaus Archive and the Villa von der Heydt”—was one of the focal points of the Berlin avant-garde in the early 1920s. Artists such as László Moholy-Nagy, El Lissitzky, and Arthur Segal regularly gathered at Buchholz’s studio there. English description: Dessau, April 3, 1928. Two pages. To Erich Buchholz (1891–1972).—Certainly one of the last letters written on Moholy-Nagy’s private Dessau stationery, which, aside from his name, lists only the address of the Meisterhaus at that time. At the end of March, his tenure at the Bauhaus in Dessau came to an end, and he followed Gropius to Berlin. - An immensely significant letter regarding Moholy-Nagy’s artistic self-conception, in which he defends himself against the accusation—heavily debated at the time in professional and artistic circles—that he had created his photograms only after being inspired by the works of Man Ray. (Transl.:) “Since I am not indifferent to what you think of me, I would like to explain the matter of the photogram to you as objectively as I can. [...] As you know, Ray was the first to publish camera-less photographs. As far as the printing of such works is concerned, that is indeed true. As for the ‘invention,’ I was there at the same time.” In the summer of 1922, I wrote an article titled “Production-Reproduction” in the Rhön, which I submitted to Doesburg in Weimar for publication