Autograph Letter Signed

This German-born American artist and sculptor circulated among the elite avant garde modernist circles of Europe (with Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso) and America (with Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O'Keeffe); he's best known for lithographs of New York cityscapes and, later, of Colorado and New Mexico scenes, as he moved west and briefly served as art director of the then-new Denver Art Museum. ALS, 1p, 8½" X 11", Denver, CO, n.y. Addressed to Arnold F. Gates (1914-93, noted Lincoln/Civil War scholar). Near fine. Excellent content penned in his bold, handsome script in brown ink, reading in part: "In answer to your question: 'have you ever turned out a Lincoln head or bust?' I can only say that for years I have had a bust of that grand head in my mind, -- (and, in my opinion, it is one of the most plastic faces of really great men) -- but I have not yet have had the opportunity to execute it. -- May I ask why you asked me that question?" Undated, but certainly of mid-1930s vintage. Quite handsome -- and quite uncommon.