Lot 52: rare vintage L.U.C. Chopard 18K yellow gold four-time-zone man’s watch. Gray’s Auctioneers image. CLEVELAND – A 37.75-carat natural star sapphire cut en cabochon is a highlighted feature of the Nov. 25 fine jewelry, exquisite gemstones and rare watches auction at Gray’s Auctioneers. Internet live bidding is provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.The auction will begin at 11 a.m. Eastern
The star sapphire can be found at lot 49. It is a large natural stone with a dark, strong, violet-blue color, and the cut is a beautiful cabochon cut. This stone has an intense six-ray star with a twinkling movement.
Lot 54 is arguably the highlight of the rare watches on offer. It is an early 19th century, handmade Pierre-Frédéric Ingold gold repeater pocket watch, together with a gold chain and key. Pierre Frédéric Ingold was born in 1787 in Switzerland. He trained with Abram-Louis Breguét, the founder of Breguét, the luxury watchmaker and went on to collaborate with most of the great names in 18th and 19th century watchmaking.
The auction also includes lot 52, a rare 18K gold vintage L.U.C. Chopard, four-time-zone man’s watch with a gorgeous leather strap. It is in working order, numbered 68236-2034 and stamped with the 750 gold Hallmark.
A wonderful selection of estate jewelry is featured in the auction and includes lot 9, an antique 2.9-carat ruby ring, set with 2.5 carats worth of old European cut diamonds. The ruby is a medium to light red, off-round cut, genuine natural ruby. Lot 134 is a magnificent 16-carat blood-red ruby set in a 14K yellow gold and diamond necklace. The oval faceted ruby measures approximately 15 x 12 x 9mm and weighs 16.59 carats.
An exquisite selection of loose cut stones including several loose 1-carat diamonds are also to be found in the auction.
With over 250 lots up for auction this veritable treasure trove also includes lot 283 a boxed lot of a miscellaneous collection of coins and currency featuring a Theodore II/John III Early Byzantine coin, an assortment of coins from ancient civilizations, Chinese coins, paper money from various countries, and American, Canadian and Continental European 19th/20th century coins.
Condition reports and shipping estimates will be provided upon request.
For more information please contact Serena Harragin at 216-458-7695, or email her at serena@graysauctioneers.com.
Lot 465: José Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza (Mexican/Louisiana, c.1750-1802), ‘Major General James Wilkinson (1757-1825),’ 1799, oil on canvas, 37 in. x 28 1/2 in. Estimate: $150,000-$250,000. Neal Auction Co. image.
NEW ORLEANS – Rare 18th century American and British portraits will be among the many highlights of Neal Auction Co.’s three-day Louisiana Purchase Auction, which is scheduled this year for Nov. 22-24.
LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding on Saturday (10 a.m. Central) and Sunday (11 a.m.).
Included in the three-day auction is lot 465, a rare, 1799 portrait of U.S. “Gen. James Wilkinson (1757-1825)” by José Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza (Mexico/Louisiana, 1750-1802). The portrait is estimated to bring $150,000 to $250,000.
The works of José Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza offer the world a rare glimpse at material culture in Spanish Colonial Louisiana. By 1782, when Salazar had arrived in New Orleans from the Yucatán, he was already a mature artist. Census records from 1791 list only two other painters in New Orleans, about whom virtually nothing is known and from whom no works survive. Only Salazar’s paintings exist to provide the world with a rare glimpse into the ways of life in Spanish Colonial Louisiana.
Neal Auction Co.’s Salazar portrait portrays of one of the nation’s most storied and interesting historic figures, James Wilkinson— a hero, a soldier, an adventurer and a spy. Wilkinson was a soldier in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He was the fifth and the eighth Commanding General of the United States Army. With Aaron Burr, Wilkinson developed a plan for secession, and then later, denied his own involvement. He was appointed the first governor of the Louisiana Territory, and, after his death, Wilkinson was discovered to have been a paid agent of the Spanish Crown.
Neal Auction Co.’s portrait of Gen. James Wilkinson features an interesting pictorial record of an exceedingly rare presidential “Indian Peace Medal” and, in so doing, offers new evidence of regalia worn by officers of the early republic. In seeking to mark his promotion to general of the U.S. Army on June 25, 1799, Wilkinson commissioned Philadelphia silversmith Joseph Richardson Jr. (1752-1831) to create a special badge replicating the Indian Peace Medals given by George Washington and John Adams to influential Native American chiefs for securing the allegiance of their nations.
The Salazar portrait of Gen. James Wilkinson comes to Neal Auction Co. through unbroken descent in the family of the sitter. It has not been seen by the public since 1865.
Another significant 18th century American portrait featured in Neal Auction’s Louisiana Purchase Auctio is lot 185, a circa 1790 painting of “Henry Howell Williams (1736-1802),” which is attributed to John Johnston (American/Boston, 1753-1818). The portrait, which is being sold with two lagniappe items—12 buttons from the sitter’s coat and an 1858 lithograph of the painting by J. H. Buford—is conservatively expected to bring $3,000 to $5,000. Like the Salazar portrait of Wilkinson, this portrait descended in the family of the sitter until the 1950s when it, the buttons, and the lithograph were acquired by the Connecticut dealer Kenneth Byard, who sold it to Earle Williams Newton II, from whose estate the group comes to Neal Auction Co. The Johnston portrait of Henry Howell Williams has been extensively published with various colorful attributions including that of artist John Henry Buford and that of artist Gilbert Stuart. The attribution to John Johnston, the prominent Boston portrait painter, was established by Alan Burroughs (1897-1978) of the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University and has been further corroborated by other known portraits by the artist bearing unmistakable similarities.
The sitter is Henry Howell Williams, a prominent Boston merchant and landowner who served as commissary sergeant of the Continental Army, and on whose extensive estate on Noddle’s Island in Boston Harbor took place “the second battle of the Revolutionary War” on May 27 and 28, 1775.
Neal Auction Co.’s Louisiana Purchase Auction features several important 18th century British portraits, including those by Scottish artists Allan Ramsay (1713-1784) and David Martin (1737-1797).
Lot 186, the 1739 Allan Ramsay (British, 1713-1784) portrait of “Sarah Metcalfe Affleck (c. 1710-1776),” estimated at $12,000 to $18,000, should attract widespread interest.
Over the past half-century it has become increasingly acknowledged that Allan Ramsay “certainly ranks among the major figures” in British painting, and that the introduction “of the Italian grand style to British portraiture was primarily the achievement of Ramsay” (Waterhouse, 1953 et seq.). His assured draftsmanship and panache established Ramsay as the leading British portrait painter of his day, with immediate and exalted patronage. In his first year of independent practice (1738-39), he painted the Dukes of Argyll and Buccleuch, the Duchess of Montrose, and the present, enchantingly beautiful noble portrait of Sarah Metcalfe Affleck. Ramsay went on to become Principal Painter in Ordinary to King George III, who acceded to the throne in 1760.
Neal Auction Co.’s picture is prominently labeled “Sarah Metcalfe / Married John Affleck Esq.” The sitter was the daughter of James Metcalfe of Roxton Hall, Bedfordshire, who in 1739 had just married John Affleck (1710-1774) of Dalham Hall, Suffolk, a graduate of Christ Church, Oxford, who was shortly to commence a quarter-century of service in Parliament. Sarah Affleck’s wonderful costume in the portrait is worthy of note: the enormous ruby that she wears as a brooch on her bodice and the copious ropes of pearls, which ornament every element of her dress and coiffure, represent the height of fashion.
Lot 511, a circa 1769 painting of “Lieutenant John Ross of the 34th Foot (Cumberland) Company” attributed to David Martin, FSA (1737-1797), is also expected to attract attention. The three-quarter-length portrait carries a presale auction estimate of $40,000 to $60,000.
David Martin studied under fellow Scottish artist Allan Ramsay, portraitist of the London elite. By the 1760s, he was Ramsay’s chief assistant, and in 1767, he had set up his own lucrative practice in London, later relocating to Edinburgh. Martin was the leading portrait artist working in the Scottish capital until his retirement in the early 1780s.
Neal Auction Co.’s portrait of John Ross was purchased in the 1880s by a tobacco baron in North Carolina; there it remained in the same family until 2006, when it was acquired by the present consignor.
The sitter, John Ross (fl. 1762–1789), was a decorated Scotsman in the British Army, who served as a lieutenant, a captain, and a major in the 34th “Regiment of Foot.” Among his many commissions, following the Treaty of Paris, Ross was sent from New Orleans to the Illinois Territory to demand the surrender of Fort de Chartres, the last outpost under French control, and to negotiate peace with the Ottawa Indians, who resisted British rule. During this expedition, he made a map of the route up the Mississippi River from Louisiana to Fort de Chartres. (The map is being offered in the auction as the following lot.)
In the David Martin portrait, Ross is depicted as an elite officer: the cap and cartridge pouch on the upholstered chair are distinctive of his company, and the framed landscape painting of a river scene behind him is believed to represent his Mississippi River explorations.
Lot 512, Lieutenant John Ross’ (fl. 1762–1789) map of the Mississippi River, is of the few large format maps of the Mississippi published during the 18th century. Ross’ map was the first official English survey of the Lower Mississippi, and one of the most historically significant American maps. It delineated the British gains from France in the French and Indian War and later, was used to establish the western boundary of the new United States.
“Course of the River Mississipi [sic], from the Balise to Fort Chartres; taken on an expedition to the Illinois, in the latter end of the Year 1765. By Lieut. Ross of the 34th Regiment: Improved from the Surveys of that River made by the French” is expected to achieve between $4,500 and $6,500.
Lot 465: José Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza (Mexican/Louisiana, c.1750-1802), ‘Major General James Wilkinson (1757-1825),’ 1799, oil on canvas, 37 in. x 28 1/2 in. Estimate: $150,000-$250,000. Neal Auction Co. image.
Lot 185: Attributed to John Johnston (American/Boston, 1753-1818), ‘Henry Howell Williams (1736-1802),’ c. 1790, oil on canvas, 36 in. x 29 1/2 in. Estimate: $3,000-$5,000. Neal Auction Co. image.
Lot 186: Allan Ramsay (British, 1713-1784), ‘Sarah Metcalfe Affleck,’ 1739, oil on canvas, 30 3/8 in. x 25 3/8 in. Estimate: $12,000-$18,000. Neal Auction Co. image.
Lot 511: Attributed to David Martin, FSA (British, 1737-1797), ‘Lieutenant John Ross of the 34th Foot (Cumberland) Company,’ c. 1769, oil on canvas, 49 1/2 in. x 40 in. Estimate: $40,000-$60,000. Neal Auction Co. image.
Lot 512: Lieutenant John Ross (British, fl. 1762-1789), ‘Course of the River Mississipi, from the Balise to Fort Chartres …’ London, 1775, sheet 45 3/4 x 21 1/4 in. Estimate: $4,500-$6,500. Neal Auction Co. image.
Custom made gown worn by Kim Novak at the 1989 Academy Awards ceremony, where she was a presenter with ‘Vertogo’ and ‘Bell Book and Candle’ co-star Jimmy Stewart. Premiere Props image. EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – Premiere Props will be auction over 1,000 movie props and costumes at its Hollywood Auction Extravaganza XII on Saturday, Nov. 23, and Sunday, Nov. 24. The event will feature items from The Godfather, Transformers, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Citizen Kane, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Fantasia, Planet of the Apes, Star Wars and more. The auction will begin at 11 a.m. Pacific both days at the Long Beach Comic & Horror Con.
LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
Items include:
– Kim Novak: the actress’s 1989 Academy Awards gown. Novak and Jimmy Stewart were reunited as presenters (they co-starred in Vertigo and Bell Book and Candle in 1958).
– Transformers: one of the massive full-size bumblebee heads used in the film.
– E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: miniature bike wheels from the most iconic image in sci-fi history, the flying of the boys on their bikes across the moon over the forest at the end of the film.
– Citizen Kane: shipping crate, a rare prop that was used in the Kane’s warehouse scene with “Charles Foster Kane – Xanadu Florida” stenciled on it.
– The Nightmare Before Christmas: Jack’s sled, which was used when Santa Jack is shot down out of the sky by artillery shells. It includes the “horror gifts” storage trash can caboose that was lashed to the back of the sled.
– Planet of the Apes: Female monkey tunic from the original classic (1968), worn by one of the rare female characters.
– Star Wars: light sabre effect filters from the personal collection of special effects wizard Kim Knowlton; these are the actual green Kodak Wratten filters Knowlton used to create the three layered famous effects to create the light sabre.
– Battlestar Galactica: viper helmet from the original 1978 hit television series, a hero screen- used helmet with the infamous light border around the faceplate which still lights up.
– The Godfather: the horse head rehearsal prop that Don Corleone (Marlon Brando) uses to force studio head Jack Woltz (John Marley) to put his friend, singer Johnny Fontane (Al Martino) in his next movie.
“With the holidays almost upon us, this auction offers up movie and television fans a chance to treat themselves to an early holiday present,” said Dan Levin, vice president of Premiere Props. “Memorabilia makes a terrific gift, as it is something that will be treasured for years to come.”
For more information call 310-322-PROP / (888) 761-PROP.
Custom made gown worn by Kim Novak at the 1989 Academy Awards ceremony, where she was a presenter with ‘Vertogo’ and ‘Bell Book and Candle’ co-star Jimmy Stewart. Premiere Props image.
From Tim Burton’s ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas.’ this is a Santa Jack sled. Screen-used for the sequence when Santa Jack is shot down out of the sky by artillery shells. Premiere Props image.
‘CHARLES FOSTER KANE – XANADU FLORIDA’ is stenciled on the side of this shipping crate, a rare prop from arguably the greatest film of all time, Citizen Kane. Premiere props image.
From the original classic 1968 ‘Planet of the Apes,’ a rare production worn female monkey tunic. There were few female ‘monkeys’ in the film, so this is a rare ‘Planet of the Apes’ collectible. Premiere Props image.
From ‘E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,’ miniature bike wheels from the sequence when the boys fly their bikes across the night sky. The effect was done with miniatures, utilizing stop motion control. These wheels were given to an ILM special effects artist by miniature special effects ‘E.T.’ supervisor Ease Owyeung. Premiere Props image.
Dutch police handout photo of Pablo Picasso’s ‘Tete d’Arlequin,’ one of the paintings stolen in a daring art heist in the Netherlands. This particular artwork may have been incinerated by the mother of the perpetrator, in an effort to destroy incriminating evidence.BUCHAREST, Romania (AFP) – Romanian prosecutors on Tuesday called for a man who admitted stealing seven masterpieces from a Dutch museum to be given the maximum 20-year jail term for “aggravated theft.”
Radu Dogaru, 29, admitted breaking into the Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam on October 16, 2012 and stole seven paintings including works by Picasso, Monet and Gauguin.
The maximum sentence for “aggravated theft” is 20 years, but Dogaru will see his penalty reduced by a third after entering a guilty plea, according to Romanian legislation.
However, an additional four years could be added given the circumstances and the value of the loot, meaning Dogaru could face up to 18 years in prison, his lawyer Catalin Dancu said.
But Dancu said he hoped for a “balanced sentence” of no more than seven years.
The verdict will be announced on November 26.
Dogaru has argued the museum failed to protect the masterpieces properly and said that the value of the works had not been confirmed by independent experts.
Six Romanians are on trial over the spectacular theft, which took less than three minutes to carry out.
Despite their 18-million-euro ($24-million) estimated value, none of the paintings was equipped with an alarm, Dutch authorities said.
Among the paintings stolen were Picasso’s “Tete d’Arlequin,” Monet’s “Waterloo Bridge” and “Femme Devant une Fenetre Ouverte, dite La Fiancee” by Paul Gauguin.
The missing canvases are feared destroyed after Dogaru’s mother, who is also facing trial, said she had torched them in a bid to destroy evidence against her son.
She later retracted her statement, but experts from Romania’s National History Museum said ashes retrieved from her stove included the remains of three oil paintings and nails from frames used before the end of the 19th century.
A separate investigation into the possible destruction of the artwork is under way.
# # #
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Dutch police handout photo of Pablo Picasso’s ‘Tete d’Arlequin,’ one of the paintings stolen in a daring art heist in the Netherlands. This particular artwork may have been incinerated by the mother of the perpetrator, in an effort to destroy incriminating evidence.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s new Picturing America’s Pastime exhibit features images from the Hall’s unparalleled photo collection. (Milo Stewart, Jr./NBHOF)
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (AP) – The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is putting a fraction of its photo archive on display in a new exhibit.
Picturing America’s Pastime features work from photographers spanning almost 150 years, among them Charles M. Conlon, Carl J. Horner, Arthur Rothstein, William C. Greene and Brad Mangin, along with many unidentified photographers whose images have been donated to the Museum.
The exhibit officially opens to the public on Wednesday and will be on display throughout 2014. It also features 16 artifacts connected to the images.
The Hall of Fame has more than 250,000 original photographs in its archives.
# # #
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s new Picturing America’s Pastime exhibit features images from the Hall’s unparalleled photo collection. (Milo Stewart, Jr./NBHOF)
On view at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays, Kansas, are fossils of a Xiphactinus audax with a Gillicus arcuatus within its stomach. The fossils were recovered from Gove County, Kansas in 1952 by George F. Sternberg (1883–1969). Photo by Spacini, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike3 License.HAYS, Kan. (AP) – Officials at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays are concerned about an auction of fossils collected by the museum’s namesake.
The auction house Bonham’s is scheduled to sell as many as 11 fossils collected by Charles H. Sternberg, patriarch of the fossil-collecting family the Sternberg Museum was named for.
The Hays Daily News reports the fossils up for auction are from the San Diego Natural History Museum. Sternberg adjunct curator Mike Everhart says the museum would love to have the pieces but it doesn’t have the money to bid on the collection. Opening bids on one item could start around $100,000.
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology also doesn’t approve of the fossils being sold to a private collector who won’t make them available to the public.
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
On view at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays, Kansas, are fossils of a Xiphactinus audax with a Gillicus arcuatus within its stomach. The fossils were recovered from Gove County, Kansas in 1952 by George F. Sternberg (1883–1969). Photo by Spacini, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike3 License.
Patrick Demarchelier (b.1943), ‘Kate Moss,’ 1992, selenium toned gelatin silver print. Dreweatts & Bloomsbury image. LONDON – Revealing photographs of 19 year-old Kate Moss on the verge of becoming one of the world’s most famous models will be sold in a sale of photographs and photobooks by Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions on Friday, Nov. 22, beginning at 2 p.m. UK time (6 a.m. Pacific). LiveAucitoneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
Taken by Patrick Demarchelier, the two photographs capture the innocence that first captivated the fashion world, and a glimpse of the glamorous supermodel she was later to become. They are estimated at £4,000–£6,000 and £3,000–£5,000 respectively, [Lot 207] and [Lot 208].
The iconic photograph of Christine Keeler sitting astride a chair was published at the height of the widely publicized Profumo Affair, which led to the eventual downfall of the Macmillan government. The photograph is signed by Keeler and was purchased directly from her by the current owner. It is estimated at £2,000–£3,000.
Keeler famously posed nude for Lewis Morley in 1963. These publicity shots, to promote the planned film The Keeler Affair, prompted debate as to whether she was completely nude. In her 2013 biography, Secrets and Lies, she says: “I am always asked if I wore knickers for the shot astride the chair. I certainly did. But it had been a battle to keep them on. Morley had wanted to photograph me without any clothes on but I used the chair to cover my bust and pulled up my white knickers around my waist.”
The photograph, taken on the first floor of the Establishment Club in London’s Soho, where Morley had his studio, has been recreated to promote the play Keeler, based on the tell-all book by Keeler. The production is currently showing at the Charing Cross Theatre in London. [Lot 123].
The photograph of the Beatles was taken at a hotel in Perthshire, during their 1964 autumn UK Tour. It was purchased by the current owner directly from the photographer, Robert Whitaker, who traveled with the Beatles on their tours between 1964 and 1966.
His assignment was to photograph the famous four at work, rest and play. It is thought that it was taken at the Four Seasons Hotel at Loch Earn where the Beatles stayed for two nights between performances in Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow. Signed by Whitaker and is estimated to sell for £800-£1,200 [Lot 188].
Bryan Adams, best known as singer-songwriter with a string of hits to his name, has been a serious photographer for many years, first exhibiting at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto in 1999. His “When you ain’t got nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose” photograph depicts a wall with the famous words, “When You Ain’t Got Nothin Ya Got Notain Ta Lose” from the famous Bob Dylan song, Like a Rolling Stone. The photograph was bought by the current owner at a charity auction and is signed in pencil by the photographer and is number 2 in an edition of just five. The photograph is estimated at £800–£1,200 [Lot 200].
A small selection of the first photographs taken of NASA astronauts on the moon provides an extraordinary record of this historically important event. Most notable is a photograph of Buzz Aldrin’s footprint on the moon, taken on July 11, 1969. It is estimated to achieve £300-£500 [Lot 106].
Nobuyoshi Araki is considered to be one of the most prolific photographers in the world, and one of the most celebrated in Japan, having published over 400 books since 1970. Describing himself as a “subjective photographer,” he tries to break down the barriers between the photographer, the subject and the viewer. His work is considered controversial in both the East and the West, described as erotic but often regarded as pornographic. Untitled (Watermelon) from Colourscapes, 1991 is a Cibachrome print of one of his most famous works. It is signed in black felt tip on the reverse and is estimated at £12,000–£15,000 [Lot 210].
The sale will take place at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury’s Maddox Street saleroom in London’s Mayfair.
Robert Whitaker (1939-2011), ‘The Beatles, Hotel in Perthshire, Scotland,’ 1964, Lightjet print, signed in black ink in the margin. Dreweatts & Bloomsbury image.
Lewis Morley (1925-2013), ‘Christine Keeler,’ London, 1963, gelatin silver print, printed circa 1993, signed by Christine Keeler in blue ink in the margin. Dreweatts & Bloomsbury image.
Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008), ‘Cracked Surface and Rivets I,’ (from the Bleacher Series), 1989, unique bleached Polaroid mounted on aluminum, signed and dated in white ink in the margin. Estimate: £20,000–£25,000. Dreweatts & Bloomsbury image.
Elliott Erwitt (b.1928), ‘Marlene Dietrich, NYC,’ 1959, gelatin silver print, printed later, signed in black ink in the margin, signed, titled and dated in pencil verso. Estimate: £1,500–£2,000. Dreweatts & Bloomsbury image.
Thurston Hopkins (b. 1913), ‘La Dolce Vita,’ London, 1953, gelatin silver print, printed later, signed in black ink in the margin. Estimate: £1,200–£1,500. Dreweatts & Bloomsbury image.
Albert Watson (b.1942), ‘Alfred Hitchcock,’ 1973, gelatin silver print, printed later, signed, titled and dated in pencil verso. Estimate: £2,500–£3,500. Dreweatts & Bloomsbury image.
A self-portrait by Otto Dix was apparently passed on by Hildebrand Gurlitt to his son Cornelius. Fair use rationale: This copyrighted image of a historically significant artwork is being used for informational and educational purposes. Image courtesy of Wikipaintings.org.BERLIN (AP) – The recluse German collector who kept a priceless trove of art, possibly including works stolen by the Nazis, hidden for half a century says he did so because he “loved” them and that he wants them back.
Cornelius Gurlitt told German magazine Der Spiegel in an interview published Sunday that he wanted to protect the collection built up by his late father Hildebrand, an art dealer commissioned by the Nazis to sell works that Adolf Hitler’s regime wanted to get rid of. Bavarian authorities say they suspect the elder Gurlitt may have acquired pictures taken from Jews by the Nazis – and that this may lead to restitution claims by the original owners or their heirs.
In his first extensive interview since the case was revealed two weeks ago, Gurlitt told Der Spiegel that everybody needs something to love. “And I loved nothing more in life than my pictures,” the magazine quoted him as saying.
The death of his parents and sister were less painful to him than the loss of the 1,406 paintings, prints and drawings by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Henry Matisse and Max Liebermann that authorities hauled out of his apartment last year, he told the magazine.
Der Spiegel said a reporter spent several days interviewing the collector while he traveled from his home in Munich to visit a doctor in another city last week.
Officials are investigating whether Gurlitt may have “misappropriated” the pictures or committed tax offenses in connection with them. However, a spokesman for Augsburg prosecutors, who are handling the case, told The Associated Press last week that Germany’s 30-year statute of limitations may prove to be a stumbling block.
Hildebrand Gurlitt died in 1956, and his wife Helene died in 1967. Officials were unaware of their son’s huge collection until a chance customs check three years ago led them to the Munich apartment.
Authorities in Bavaria and Berlin kept the find secret for more than a year and a half. But since the case was revealed by the German magazine Focus two weeks ago they have come under pressure to find a solution that will prevent legal obstacles from standing in the way of rightful claims to the art — particularly if Holocaust survivors or heirs of those persecuted by the Nazis are involved.
Gurlitt told Der Spiegel that he won’t just hand over the art. “I won’t talk to them, and I’m not giving anything back voluntarily, no, no,” he is quoted as saying.
He told the magazine he kept his favorite pictures in a small suitcase. Each evening he would unpack it to admire them. The magazine said he also spoke to the pictures.
The magazine described Gurlitt as being in ill health because of a heart condition, yet fiercely denying any wrongdoing by himself or his father, whose own Jewish heritage put him in a precarious position when dealing with the Nazis.
Occasionally he sold pictures for cash, the magazine reported. The last time was in 2011, when he sold Max Beckmann’s painting The Lion Tamer for 725,000 euros. Gurlitt kept a little over 400,000 euros, with the rest going to the family of a Jewish collector who once owned it, according to the magazine.
The heirs of several Jewish collectors have already come forward to claim some of the 1,406 works that have now come to light, saying the pictures were taken from their relatives by force, or sold under duress.
“It’s possible that my father was once offered something from a private collection,” Gurlitt told Der Spiegel. “But he would definitely not have taken it.”
Gurlitt told the magazine that he helped his father spirit the pictures away from Dresden as the Russian army advanced on the city in 1945.
# # #
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
A self-portrait by Otto Dix was apparently passed on by Hildebrand Gurlitt to his son Cornelius. Fair use rationale: This copyrighted image of a historically significant artwork is being used for informational and educational purposes. Image courtesy of Wikipaintings.org.
Kensington Gardens, site of Art Antiques London. Image courtesy of Haughton International FairsLONDON – Fair organizers Anna and Brian Haughton have announced plans today for Art Antiques London, which will run from June 12-18, 2014 in Kensington Gardens, London. It will be the fifth edition of this acclaimed fair, which takes place in a purpose-built pavilion in Kensington Gardens. Set in the verdant parkland, the fair’s marquee is positioned next to the Albert Memorial and opposite the Royal College of Art and The Royal Albert Hall. Art Antiques London is the first modern fair to take place on the historic site of the Great Exhibition of 1851. The opening night gala at the 2014 fair will benefit the charity Children in Crisis, which provides education, protection and better life opportunities for children who are missing out on quality schooling due to war, remoteness and lack of government services.
Art Antiques London brings together more than 70 international dealers offering exceptional works of art, among them many of museum quality. Furniture, paintings, drawings, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, glass, clocks, watches, jewelry, objets de vertu, silver, antiquities and Asian art are among the many different categories included and for sale. Prices start from as little as a few hundred dollars but rise into the millions. The fair’s superb lecture program is a particular feature of the Fair, underpinning the fair’s academic credentials and always receives acclaim from collectors. Uniquely positioned in one of London’s most fashionable areas, the fair has become an essential destination in the heart of London for a community of collectors and curators from around the world.
“We think the fair hits all the right notes in creating an exceptional art viewing experience like no other,” said Brian Haughton. “While there are 70 exhibitors, it feels intimate enough for our visitors to have more than a passing dalliance with a work of art.”
Anna Somers Cocks of The Art Newspaper agreed. “Unlike most other fairs today, this is an encounter between people who really want to talk art and handle objects knowledgeably.”
Art Antiques London annually welcomes a very high attendance of visitors from leading museums including the Director of Palaces and Collection at the Prussian Palaces as well as curators from The Victoria and Albert; The British Museum; The National Museums of Scotland; The National Museums of Wales; The Royal Collection; The Ashmolean; The Fitzwilliam; The Bowes Museum; The Bayerisches National Museum, Munich; The Museum of Art and Design, Copenhagen; The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio and The Philadelphia Museum of Art as well as many other museums and institutions from Europe and America.
HRH The Countess of Wessex presided over the charity preview evening, and visitors to the Fair in 2013 included HRH Princess Eugenie, Lord and Lady Archer, several members of the Qatari royal family, Giles Brandreth, Michael Portillo, Isobel Goldsmith, Drummond Money-Coutts, Valentino and Giancarlo Giacometti, Jonathan Shalit and Monica Mason.
Children in Crisis was established in 1993 in the UK to give children in some of the world’s poorest countries the education they need to help transform their lives. The charity was founded in 1993 by Sarah, Duchess of York and she remains The Life President of the organization. HRH Princess Beatrice of York has been a Children in Crisis Ambassador since 2007. An active supporter of the charity, recently she spent 3 months working for Children in Crisis as a research and development intern. Her sister HRH Princess Eugenie will head the Junior Committee for the Gala at Art Antiques London. At the heart of Children in Crisis’ work is the knowledge that education improves health and livelihood, unites communities and builds peace. Education is the key to overcoming poverty and exclusion, so particular attention is paid to children and women who face discrimination or disadvantage for reasons of ethnicity, gender, disability, income or other factors. CIC works in partnership with communities to strengthen their capacity to mobilize local resources, plan, deliver change, and sustain that change. CIC chooses to work where few others do, in some of the most challenging places in the world, and in areas affected by conflict or political instability. This includes Afghanistan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Worldwide, a staggering 72 million children are still denied an education.
