Alexander Calder and Carlos Franqui

Carlos Franqui (1921-2010) was a Cuban writer and political activist. In the early 1950s, he edited the underground newspaper Revolución,  focussing on a literary supplement which introduced modern authors to a Cuban audience. He later came under attack and was arrested by the Castro regime. After his exile from Cuba in 1963, he continued his literary activity, editing and writing, including the seminal The Diary of the Cuban Revolution (1980).  He died in April 2010.

A journalist and poet, he was close to many French intellectuals including Jean-Paul Sartre, through whom he came to know many artists including Miró, Picasso, Tàpies and Calder, with whom he collaborated professionally. Among the collaborations with Calder was issue No.190 of Derrière le Miroir, 1971, which includes text by Franqui and complementary illustrations by Calder. Untitled (Placard Carlos Franqui) [Cartoon] (Lot 85) is the original work, with hand-written text by Franqui, for a lithograph of the same title. The four works in Lot 86 also comprise text written by Franqui and illustrations by Calder.