TOULOUSE LAUTREC (Henri de) S. l., 28th December. Autograph letter signed to his godmother and grandmother. 4 p. in-12 (17.6 x 11.3 cm). An amusing and charming unpublished autograph letter to his maternal grandmother and godmother, Mme Léonce Tapié de Celeyran, wishing her a happy new year and discussing his difficulties in creating. Beginning his letter in patois, he expressed his regret at not having been able to attend the family celebrations at the end of the year. "Béneu, béneu, béneu, toutis en mano! I'm not coming en masse, but on my own to try and play my part in this great New Year's Day comedy, which is so much better played as a family, with screens as backdrops. I was very sorry to miss all the shepherds, shepherdesses and shepherdesses for the first time in 4 years. Going through a difficult period, he laments his current artistic creation. "Especially as I'm not in the process of regenerating French art. I'm struggling against a few unfortunate sheets of paper that have done nothing for me and on which I'm doing nothing good. I hope it will get better in a while, because I'm pathetic! He then mentions his cousin Louis Pascal, whose portrait he will paint in 1891. "I was afraid that his father would play a bit of Croquemitaine to punish him for a failure that he tried his best to avoid this time. He ends his endearing letter by sending his best wishes to his godmother, with a thought for the rest of his family. "I beg you to be my ambassador to Uncle Amédée, Aunt Alice and all the cousins and Armandines. Tell the latter that I will write to them in particular. I send you my warmest love. A beautiful unpublished letter from Toulouse-Lautrec that belonged to the Régine and Bernard Loliée Collection. Minor brown spots. Provenance : Régine and Bernard Loliée (Giquello sale, Sotheby's, 22 May 2019, no. 148).