So Much to See....So Little Money to Buy

This was the brief exchange between two art dealers passing on the street a couple of weeks ago. It was Art Week in London. Of course, in the art world we have many art weeks, for Contemporary, Modern, Oriental and this one was for Old Masters. This week came right on the heals of the new fair in London, called “Masterpiece” which unfortunately I missed, being in St. Petersburg at the time. But I was there for Master Drawings London, Master Paintings Week as well as the auctions at Bonhams, Christies and Sotheby’s. So now you will understand the conversation up top.

One walks miles and miles between these destinations, up and down St. James’s, Bond Street and all the small streets on either side, One could not possibly be in all places at once with sales held simultaneously in several houses, and the dealers adding lectures to their schedules.

The auction houses had 17 sales between Tuesday and Friday which occurred morning, noon and night. In addition to the specialized sales of drawings, paintings, works of art, and decorative arts there was a sale of material from the country house of the Spencer family, or as the British newspaper The Telegraph put it, “Earl Spencer's £21.1 million auction of possessions from Diana's family ….Old Masters paintings, carriages and other treasures from the family home of Diana, Princess of Wales”. You can well imagine how the provenance gave an extra boost to the prices.



















The dealers’ shows (46 in all) were organized in two groups, one that was called ‘Master Paintings Week” and the other “Master Drawings London” .

As you may remember from my earlier Missive of mid January this year we have “Master Drawings New York“ in the States. The concept originated in London with a drawings dealer, Crispian Riley-Smith, who exported it to New York. Each gallery does there own thing in their own space which allows the visitor to pick and choose according to their interests, and of course, it also gives one a chance to visit friends and colleagues to chat a bit.

The painting dealers, who do not have the same event in New York were inclined to do theme shows around a subject along the lines of their specialties, such as “Caravaggio’s Friends and Foe”. In another case two dealers who share a gallery, one presented Italian paintings and the other French, clearly delineating their space.

London is certainly an Old Master art center . Its museums have great permanent collections and exhibitions, several of which I did not want to miss. The British Museum had on “Fra Angelico to Leonardo: Italian Renaissance Drawings”. These were the greatest drawings from the two best collections in the world, the British Museum and the Uffizi in Florence.

The National Gallery was doing a didactic exhibition called “Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries”. One could learn a lot here. With the paintings, it showed how new scientific techniques allow us to gain new insights into works of art that have been acquired with different attributions. Although some pictures were downgraded, others turned out to be great “discoveries”.



















The Wallace Collection is a little gem worth a Missive of it own. I bring it up here because of the current exhibition of Renaissance bronzes collected by the renowned American architect, Peter Marino, a passionate collector in several fields.

I must admit that after one sees some of the works in the museum collections one realizes that those one is chasing in the auctions and at colleagues are not necessarily the greatest ever made. At the same time there are artists and works that were not appreciated before, but have today come into their own. Don’t forget that Vermeer was totally forgotten after his death and only 200 years later did art historians “resurrect” him. Also what is sought after today, may not be tomorrow. Tastes change and availability is a factor. Rarity has a value, but on the other hand when a category disappears from the market, it can become a case of ‘out of sight out of mind’.

All the collector or art dealer, for that matter, can do is buy what one likes and acquire the best piece available that one can afford.

White Nights

Doing a real travelogue in the brief space that I allow myself for “Missives from the Art World” is not possible. So think of these as my thoughts on why I (and many art dealers) travel.

It is the first time in a very long time that I can say that I am a tourist in every way in my current venue, St. Petersburg, Russia, I am neither trying to buy nor to sell nor visiting clients. Though I must admit to always thinking what could this or that museum be interested in that I might have or have access to. I came here for the simple reason that I wanted to see a city I had never been to and discover for myself the art I had heard so much about.














It is really quite amazing in every respect. Firstly, it is easy to see why they call them white nights. It is daylight for 24 hours a day. It is difficult to decide if it is bed time or not; at this time of year even street lamps are unnecessary!

Since I am just a tourist on this visit I did not get in touch with any curators or directors before coming. In art I am privileged and spoiled, and unused to waiting in line. The longest of the lines I waited on during my stay here was at the Hermitage. That took two hours. I have never seen so many people in one line and, yet, they all get gobbled up by the massive Winter Palace. It is said that if you spent a minute looking at each work of art in the collections it would take eleven years to see them all! But there is no question there are untold treasures, a couple of paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, a room full of Rembrandts, gallery after gallery of important 17th and 18th century French paintings collected by Catherine the Great when they were “contemporary art”. I could go on for a page or two just listing categories and artists.














There are more grand palaces in St. Petersburg than anywhere I have ever been, some restored and others turned into office buildings. Outside of town there are still more to visit but I only had time to see a couple. At Peterhof, more than the palace itself, I found the fountains an incredible sight. Peter the Great wanted to build a palace that would be every bit as good as Versailles and even surpass it. In the gardens and fountains I think he succeeded.

The unexpected and strongest impression left by my visit was the revival of the cathedrals and the churches. It is as if all this religious fervor that had been pent up for so many years under Communism burst forth with Perestroika. I saw many extraordinary churches and cathedrals that have been restored and are now in active use.

The most extraordinary is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan built by Andrey Voronikhin and started in 1801. I was there at the time of a service. It was quite an experience. The organ was playing, the choir was singing and many of the faithful were buying and lighting candles. It was hard to believe that in 1932 the Cathedral had been turned into the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism. Things Change!

Another, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood which was begun in 1883 by Alexander III in memory of his father Alexander II who had been assassinated on that spot. It is most extravagant in its decoration and all the interior walls are covered in mosaic.



















The Peter and Paul Cathedral, located inside the Peter and Paul Fortress, is the oldest landmark in St. Petersburg, dating from 1712. It seems to have a foot in both Communist and Post-communist eras. In 1924 it was turned into a museum which it remains today, with paid admission, even though religious services have been held there since 2000.

The experiences of travel provide a “post-graduate” education to anyone involved in the art world.

The International Art World Meets

C.I.N.O.A., La Confédération Internationale des Négociants en Oeuvre d’Art (the International Confederation of Art Dealers), represents about 5,000 dealers in 22 countries, it is not, however, a federation of individual dealers but rather a confederation of associations (32 at this time).

The organization is celebrating it’s 75th anniversary this year having been founded in Belgium by a few of the outstanding dealers of Europe at the time. My involvement began in 1972 when I went to the board of C.I.N.O.A. to propose organizing a non-selling exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It was approved and at the end of 1974 we opened “The Grand Gallery” with 300 works of art from dealers around the world. I have been involved ever since as a representative of several American associations, a board member, President, and most recently in my honorary position “Permanent Councilor”.

There are many objectives of C.I.N.O.A. but primarily it exists as the United Nations of the art trade. As such, it informs, advises, warns and protects not only the trade but also collectors, museums and artists.














Every year a general assembly is held in a different city. This year we were in Prague. As with all such trade organizations there are business and social components and C.I.N.O.A. always includes a cultural one. Our business meeting was held in the Lobkowicz Palace, a part of the Prague Castle which was begun in the 10th century with continuous updates and additions. We met in the concert room of the Palace and ate in the restaurant and visited the family museum.

A key element of the meeting are the market reports submitted by the associations informing the other members of the economic situation and the particular issues in their countries. For instance there is a new tightening of security regulations in the U.S. Though Customs has always had the right to inspect anything that leaves the country they are now doing it more but specifically for shipments by sea. Air shipments are usually left alone. The concern is that if you are a dealer, museum or collector this is a serious issue because it can put a work of art at greater risk. Damage in shipment most often occurs during packing and unpacking, even when it is done by professionals experienced in handling art and familiar with the particular pieces.














Droit de Suite (royalties paid to artists and their descendants every time a work of art changes hands) is another major issue. Those countries who have not enacted Droit de Suite such as the United States (with the exception of California) have a major trade advantage over those countries who have it such as France, Germany and Belgium; and between those countries the rates vary. Taxes such as Capital Gains and fees for import and export duties are still another concern since they vary from country to country. It is most helpful for dealers to understand these matters since many are active in the international art trade.

We heard three talks one by Mark Evans, Sr. curator of Paintings at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London called, “Fakes vs. Forgery”. Another by Professor Claus Grimm, “Between Original and Copy: the Contribution of the Apprentices”. The third a report from Dr. Clare McAndrew of Art Economics in regard to a report she is working on for C.I.N.O.A. which will be published in the Fall. It will cover the way the art market and trade have changed over the years and continues to change.

After all the nitty gritty such as approval of Minutes and Treasurer’s report etc. we could indulge in some cultural tourism. We visited the St. Agnes of Bohemia Convent (built 1231-1234) where the curator toured us through their fabulous early collections from the 14th to the 16th centuries. There was also a leisurely river cruise where we could observe Prague’s historic architecture and bridges. Of course, such sightseeing has a meaningful bonus, allowing dealers and administrators to have informal conversations and develop personal relationships that will help, if not result, in some business.

Headed East

As my wife headed West the other morning, I went East that evening. My first stop on this tour was Paris where I went to a number of exhibitions of auctions and some I sat through. Aside from the usual suspects Christies and Sotheby’s, I visited Articurial and the amazing Hotel Drouot. Artcurial is an auction house in the Hôtel Marcel Dassault (built in 1844) and Drouot is a modern building built to house many auction rooms which are shared with many auctioneers who exhibit and auction their merchandise there. Many years ago they even sold washing machines at Drouot but these days it represents houses that have fine and decorative arts as well as jewelry and coins.

l do not always attend the actual sale but I try to get around to all the exhibitions so that I know what is available and if I will not be there to bid I can leave a bid with the house or a colleague. A French collector said to me at Drouot the less they profess to know, with little information published and no photograph the work of art will sell for the highest price. Of course, this is not always the case but the point he was making was in all these many pieces that are being sold everyone hopes, to make a discovery. Some times, it goes the other way and one does get a bargain, but that is the exception.

Not too far from Drouot at 69,rue St. Anne, in a courtyard, you will find two top dealers Eric Turquin for paintings and Galerie de Bayser (father and sons) for drawings. But they are not just dealers they are also ‘experts’ for a number of auction houses. This is a legal designation with responsibilities for the property sold through the auction house. Works of art reside with these dealers for some time as they research them but they cannot sell directly to the client. They can, however, show the works and give out many details of the research they have done before the work appears at auction. I visited both to see what the future held and in the case of the drawings they will come up right after I leave Paris. I left bids for five of them… who knows? So far this week I have not had much success in the auctions. But there were other works to consider from the galleries and there is another opportunity.

My next stop is Prague where I will be for the meeting of the International Confederation of art dealers consisting of 5000 dealers from about 20 countries. These meetings, which occur once a year, give an opportunity for discussions on the legal and financial issues that face the dealers over much of the globe. I look forward to reporting on it next week assuming I have internet access where ever I am.

Art in the Theater

We went to Broadway the other night to see a straight play and the theater was full. When we walked into the theater, a half hour before show time, there was a man on stage sitting in an armchair with his back to us. He didn’t move until the lights went down.

Turns out he was the brooding, contemplative Mark Rothko (played by Alfred Molina), staring at one of his large red and black canvasses with several others around him.

The plot, there really isn’t one, let us say the exploration of art, is brought forward by a continuous conversation that Rothko has with his young assistant, Ken (Eddie Redmayne). Actually it is more of a monologue than a conversation. Ken is the foil and you can see him trying to hold in his personal opinions until, in one of the most dramatic moments I have ever seen, Ken pours out an impassioned commentary from the young artist’s point of view.

The playwright (John Logan) uses Rothko’s view of the art world to address the question of what is art, and as Eddie Redmayne, accepting his Tony award said, “how much the arts matter”.

I am always amazed at how few artists today understand or even care about what has been done before but I am impressed by those artists who are interested in the work of their predecessors (e.g. Jeff Koons who collects Old Masters; Joel-Peter Witkin who searches out antique frames to use with his photographs.) . In this play Rothko insists that in order to understand art, and more particularly his art, one needs to know and understand all that went before, and not just the art history but music and philosophy as well.

Rothko wants his work to have great meaning and significance. Ken points out to him that he is selling out by undertaking the commission for the Four Seasons Restaurant of a series of painting to go around the main dining room. Rothko’s defense is that he wants to put the “rich bastards” dining there off their food. Ultimately, after visiting the restaurant, he calls Philip Johnson, the architect responsible for the interior, and says that he won’t turn over the paintings and is returning his $35,000 advance.

In the play Rothko says “There’s only one thing I fear in life, my friend, one day the black will swallow the red.” In fact, more and more black did appear in his paintings over the years, reflecting the dark side of his personality. He committed suicide in 1970 before his dream, and arguably his greatest work, the de Menil chapel was completed.

If you have ever spent time looking at Rothko’s work you know that his paintings come alive with less light and even with the reproductions on the stage the point is well illustrated when Ken suddenly turns up the lights to illustrate the point. When you are in the Rothko chapel in Houston you really understand.

As we left the theater I heard a woman talking about an artist she knew who had worked as Rothko’s assistant for two and a half years. He had told her that they were not allowed to talk in the studio. Only during lunch could they break the silence. This revelation did not affect my enjoyment of the play in the slightest as the dialog was merely a vehicle for Logan’s insight into this artist and the creating of art.

Since the actors have other commitments “Red” is here for only a limited engagement. Sadly, after winning 6 Tonys, it will close at the end of the week. If you want to engage your mind and get into that of the artist I urge you to book a seat. I understand that there are still some left.

The Barnes Collection

A week ago we had a family gathering in Philadelphia to celebrate the Bar Mitzvah of my oldest grandchild. As you can imagine it was a very busy few days and there were times that we were neither needed nor wanted around. So we decided to profit from this unusual freedom of time in Philadelphia and went to visit the Barnes Collection. My wife had not been there since she was a graduate student and I believe my last visit was when I went as a lad with my parents. Our son and his wife joined us for what may be a last chance to see the Barnes in situ.

The issue of moving the Barnes Collection from its suburban location to a new museum building in the center of Philadelphia where it would be more accessible has inspired heated controversy and even a recent sensationalist movie ”The Art of the Steal”.

Dr. Albert C. Barnes was the co-developer of an early antimicrobial drug called Argyrol. It made him an incredible fortune and with a healthy portion of that money he started collecting art.

He built a phenomenal collection of predominantly late 19th and early 20th century French art as well as a bit of everything else. Decorative arts of several countries. American paintings, African sculpture, even some Native American pots and Navajo silver and textiles. There are some Old Masters, as well but those are not worth a visit on their own.

As a setting for his collection Dr. Barnes and his wife bought a twelve-acre arboretum on which to build and house his collection. At first, the floor to ceiling installation of pictures and artifacts looks haphazard but it was Dr. Barnes’s own hang with the concept of being able to discuss and compare the art of different periods and cultures.













He strongly believed in art education and The Barnes Foundation was established in 1922 as an educational entity to study horticulture and art which it continues to do today.

The main reason for visiting the Barnes is to see the fabulous collection of Cezanne, Matisse, Renoir and Picasso. I do not remember seeing so many in any one space except for a monographic exhibition. Most importantly, the quality of much of it is absolutely tops.

Dr. Barnes was very interested in the plight of the working classes and most especially the “negro people”. He wished to empower the “Negroes” by putting them in charge of his foundation and he appointed the majority of his Board of Directors from Lincoln University, a Black college in the outskirts of Philadelphia.

Dr. Barnes wanted his collection open to the workers and not to the art establishment. In the past, if you worked for a museum it was best not to disclose the fact when trying to book a reservation. His theories of arts education were also unusual and soon he ran afoul of the establishment in Philadelphia and forbid any of the trustees from the major local Universities or Museums from joining the Barnes’s Board.

For many years the people of Lower Merion complained about traffic, the cars parked illegally on their residential streets, and the invasion of the public in their quiet corner of the world. When the Barnes began to have financial difficulties a loan tour of part of the collection was organized. Although it was hugely successful (it attracted 1.5 million visitors at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris) the funds raised were deemed insufficient.

Discussions began of the possibility of moving the Barnes to Philadelphia proper, to a new building near the Philadelphia Art Museum. Of course, at that point the people of Lower Merion began to object and a fight began over the legality of changing Dr. Barnes’ will. After a protracted court case it was decided that the Barnes could be moved. The new downtown building should be ready for occupancy in 2012.



















I see both points of view and am very glad not to have had to make that decision. But no matter how hard the new stewards of the Barnes try to adhere to the original installation, as they have promised, it will certainly not be the same. As my wife pointed out, one cannot hang a major Van Gogh tight into the corner of a gallery because of the number of people who will try to squeeze in to see it.

In any case, seeing this idiosyncratic collection amid the crowds who will be driven by curiosity to flood the new downtown museum will surely evoke nostalgia in those who made the pilgrimage to the secluded esthetic sanctum of an inspired collector.

Jean Valade......who is that?

Jean Valade (1710-1787) was born in the small town of Poitiers, France but made his career in Paris.

Pierre Faventines (1695-1776), Marquis de Roquefeuil and Vicomte d'Alzon made his fortune as so many do today by managing other people’s money, especially that of the Duchesse de Bourbon, he then became the Treasurer of the Parlement of Bourgogne as well as a fermier général (tax collector) in Provence and Languedoc.

Personally, I do not believe that a good painting has anything to do with the name of the artist. Why are Watteau, Fragonard and Boucher about the only artists that anyone, not involved in the field of 18th century France, heard of? One of the reasons is that they were set above all their contemporaries by the Goncourt Brothers who were the great publicists of the virtues of 18th century French art from the vantage point of the following century. One must admit that all three painted more pictures of quality than not, which have found their way into public collections and have, therefore, been available to be written and lectured about.

This does not mean, however, that every work they did was a masterpiece or even necessarily good. A few are dogs! But, as in the stock market, the investors who come out ahead in the long run are those that have made more successful than unsuccessful transactions. The differences in percentage are small and every point above 50% is significant.

Valade was a member of the Academy and one of the most successful portraitists of his day. Our two pastels are among his most ambitious works and, painted in 1768 represent the climax of his career. They were central to the 1993 monographic exhibition in Valade’s home town and were clearly the stars. We know that Valade was the favored artist of the Faventines because the artist painted a number portraits of them and their family, mostly smaller conventional treatments.


















Valade was one of the few masters of the difficult medium of pastel in this period. Two of the best known who happen to be of the same generation are Maurice Quentin La Tour (1704-1788) and Swiss artist Jean-Étienne Liotard (1702-1789). They often command attention when their work comes up in an exhibition or auction sale.

What attracts me particularly to these Valade pastels is that they combine the individuals with the objects of their time. They go beyond the standard bust-length likeness to present the individuals in surroundings that represent who they are. Clearly the Faventines are showing off a bit. The Marquis appears as the up-to-date businessman sitting in his fine “morning coat” working at his desk, whose design and gilt bronze laurel swag convey the message that he is a patron of the avant garde classicising style. But do note he has not given up his comfy Louis XV chair. Madame is industrious as well, working at her embroidery loom (needlework being the emblematic occupation of a virtuous woman). She may sit along side an old-fashioned Boulle-work bracket clock but she shows off her gold snuffbox of the latest Neo-Classic design. Note what is on her lap and on her left wrist as well.


















Further we are dealing with a rare instance of 18th century pictures in their original frames. In this case they are major architectonic statements whose carved swags complement and balance the pictorial compositions. The fact that they have remained in their original frames is one reason for the fine state of preservation of this notoriously delicate medium of pastel.

A point that I will come back to again and again is that a great work by a lesser artist is preferable to a lesser work by a great artist. Here we have “museum quality” in an artist who is not a household name.