Maurice ESTÈVE (1904-2001). 58 L.A.S., Paris and Culan 1972-1985, to Mme Suzanne Studin; 70 pages in-4 or in-8, envelopes. Important friendly correspondence with a Parisian woman who takes care of his mother, to whom she brings affection and comfort, for which Estève never stops thanking her. Madame Estève died in May 1974, and from that date on, the exchange of letters became less frequent. It is mainly a question of his mother's health, with whom he regrets not being more present, "prisoner of a harassing work". However, he went to the cinema, to see in January 1973 The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie by Buñuel, which disappointed him and inspired him to reflect on the use of color by filmmakers. He spends his summers in Culan, trying to work in his studio, "overwhelmed by exhibition projects for which I have so little taste! But as my friend Laurens, the great sculptor, used to say to me: "You have to exhibit, Estève, because you have to help the... dealers! He promises a watercolor, but he is overwhelmed: "Not having any talent, I have to work a lot to obtain the slightest result. And to work it takes time. And as I am not helped, like Dubuffet, by a factory of craftsmen and twenty secretaries, my nights of rest are short...". Is he a victim of his "passion-creation? Certainly, but happy and voluntary victim. But of the "I want money"... not at all"; however the merchants claim, and the artist does not have the right to abandon them. He "pushes" lithographs, "exhausting work for me without the hubbub of the workshops". In April 1973, his mother wanted to see his watercolor exhibition at the Claude Bernard Gallery. He then exhibited in Zurich, and in September he prepared collaged papers on which he "dried". In February 1974, he had to "give up (oil) painting" to devote himself to posters and lithographs. An exhibition was planned in Bremen, and another of collaged papers at the Claude Bernard Gallery in April. But his mother's health suddenly deteriorated and she died on May 22, 1974. The letters became less frequent: he sent books and greetings at the time of the holidays. On the anniversary of his mother's death, in May 1975, he made a few confidences: as an only child, he had never had the cult of the family; "There was indeed a cousin, who put me in the most passionate of emotions... But I was 17 years old and it was not the family that warmed my heart and... the flesh... Let's move on, let's move on"... He regrets that his tapestries are exhibited too close together at the Decorative Arts. He gives all his time to painting (Paris, June 18, 1976) "the rest is boring me - friends and girlfriends excepted. (It's hard, dear friend, to grow old with a young heart!...)"; he humorously paints a picture of his condition: his baldness, his belly that "doesn't fit in", the difficulties of his work: "My genius (of the Bastille) taking vacations on the edge of the Oceans after having taken some on the snowy peaks of winter while waiting to take new ones, those of the transhumance of summer, so that he abandons me almost all year long. In July 77, he writes that in May, in Culan, the Arnon " (this so pretty river, this hypocrite, this gourgandine) suddenly possessed by a furious crisis of eroticism, left its bed to deposit caresses on mine! "... The last letters are filled with gratitude for the one who " brought so much affection to my small mother "...