‘Nature Morte: Pommes et Poires’ is up for sale on 12th May at Sotheby’s, NYC and is expected to fetch 25-35m US$. I’ve always loved the story of what happened in the playground of what is now College Mignet when bullies were making life hell for new boy, Emile Zola, who was impoverished and had a Parisian accent. Paul Cézanne waded in to help him: ‘the next day he brought me a big basket of apples,’ he wrote, and the friendship began.
In fact he was to paint 301 still lifes, 200 oils, 101 watercolours.
If that is something of a stretch financially, Magnum Photos and Paris Match have released a set of prints taken by their photographers over several decades: click the link to see pictures from the magical world of film sets which show the evolution of cinema in the 20th century. Prints £100. Thanks to Julia for this tip!
aixcentric 
I love reading your blogs😀
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Oh thank you lots – you know I love writing them!
I hope to see you some time soon….*thinks – how long can all this go on?*
A little out of my price range 🙂