A FOREST OF SIGNATURES I: Drawings of personalities of the 20th century

Trianon Enchères is honored to present a singular and moving set of works from the personal collection of Pierre Lhoste (1913-1984), for sale exclusively online at Drouot from June 5 to 21, with the auction closing on Sunday June 21 at 6 pm.

A journalist and radio broadcaster, Pierre Lhoste devoted his career to interviewing the great figures of his time. In the course of his interviews, he had the original idea of asking each of his guests not only for a signature, but also for the spontaneous drawing of a tree. The result is an exceptional collection, at the crossroads of autograph, moral portrait and artistic expression.

Each leaf is much more than a simple dedication: it is the intimate trace of an encounter, a handwritten testimony where the personality of its author seems to express itself through a few strokes of ink. Writers, artists, politicians, scientists, comedians and thinkers have all left their signature, as their imagination dictates, accompanied by a tree that has become a symbol of their passage through Pierre Lhoste's microphone.

Gathered together for the first time in a single sale, these documents offer an unprecedented look at the great figures of the 20th century. Through this astonishing forest of signatures, a sensitive panorama emerges of the intellectual, artistic and cultural life of several generations.

A rare, deeply human collection, where history is written by hand and rooted in the memory of encounters.