Response from Biographer Hilary Spurling!

Here is the response to my email to Hilary Spurling's agent! People are truly wonderful and I thank Hilary and her agent for taking time to respond.

------------------------- (email follows) ---------------------------------------
Dear Michael Daconta,

Thanks for this, which I passed to Hilary Spurling. She says: "I don't think his information is right because Matisse had only one brother & two nieces, neither of them called Olimpia - so whoever this Olimpia Matisse may have been, the painter can't have been her uncle. Would he like me to forward his letter to the Matisse archive?"

Good wishes,
Alice Wilson
> > -----Original Message-----
> From: MDaconta@aol.com [mailto:MDaconta@aol.com]
> Sent: 08 October 2006 09:46
> To: dha@davidhigham.co.uk
> Subject: Author Permission from Matisse Relative
>
> > Dear Sir,
>
> My name is Michael Daconta and my grandmother's mother was Olimpia
> Matisse. My grandmother told us that the painter Henri Matisse was a
> great, great, great Uncle. From Hilary's book, "The Unknown Matisse",
> I understand that this may not be the correct branch in the genealogy.
> I have documented all this in the blog: > http://quest-for-matisse.blogspot.com
>
> I am hoping you will pass this email on to Hilary so that she will > allow me to use quotes (and one image) from her book in my blog and
> ask her for the references she used for her genealogy information so I
> may continue my search.
>
> Thank you for any assistance you can provide.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> - Michael Daconta
> ---------------------------
> Michael C. Daconta
> www.daconta.us
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