After All These Years

I can’t believe I am back here in New York for my 50^th high school reunion. Where did the time go?  We aIl look at our families and friends’ families and say, I can’t believe you have grown so quickly or I can’t believe you have been married for 20 years.  The next question we ask ourselves is how has the individual changed and in some cases what is different now.

So, I am always asked how has the art market changed in all my years in the business?  Though I often feel that I am doing what I have always done, there is no question that it has changed.  I came into the art business in the mid 1960’s and now I believe that it was the end of an era.  For the first half of the 20th century this country was hungry for the history and heritage of the old world.

Many great collections were built at the beginning of the 20th century.  Those of Henry Clay Frick and J.P. Morgan are probably mentioned the most.  After World War II there were cash-rich Americans hungry for the art from the art-rich cash-poor Europeans.  It was a perfect symbiotic relationship.  By the end of the 1960’s that era was disappearing.

Though it was never a business in the usual sense the art market began to change from small to big time.  Art was no longer just sought after by collectors trying to build collections and social status but also buyers looking for profitable investment.  The auction houses gave the greatest impetus to this new phenomenon.  

I remember that at the first Sotheby’s and Christies auctions that I went to the auction room often consisted of a large table with the auctioneer at one end of the table and 10 to 15 dealers sitting around him.  The lot would be announced and then it was often passed around the table for closer inspection by the bidders.  Today, the market has become much more open with private collectors sitting next to the dealers and some from both categories on the telephone calling in their bids either in order to conceal themselves from the curious, such as the press, or out of fear that if they were seen bidding, others would jump in.

Thomas Rowlandson "A book auction at Sotheby's"

In the early 1970’s Peter Wilson of Sotheby’s began his monetization of the art world, which included new policies such as no longer extending long credit terms to dealers and his best known and much-reviled addition of the buyer’s premium.  Of course, combined with the additional inflow of cash there were aggressive campaigns both in the press and on an individual basis to move the market towards the auction houses.  Indexes were produced to show how much the art market increased each year, often ignoring the fact that there is no single art market but many.

Slowly but surely the emphasis went from the dealers to the auction houses.  Clients would no longer depend on “their” dealer to get advice but relied more on the “expert” in the auction house.  Results depended on the knowledge of the individual in charge.  It was now Christies or Sotheby’s says the piece is a good buy, not Bob Jones at the auction house. In the past families like the Rothschilds felt it undignified to give works of art to the auction houses or to buy there but in the new world they had no compunction about doing so.

At every art dealers’ association meeting across the globe the same question came up.  What are we going to do about the auction houses? They had very limited success in doing anything until the next incarnation of the art market, - the art fair came into its own with the higher end dealers participating.

At art fairs collectors who were intimidated by going into a gallery could see a wide variety of works of art from a wide variety of dealers and be able to leave without having to open a door. It has been referred to as one-stop shopping.  The dealers had finally found competition for the auction houses.  Collectors also had to make up their minds quicker just like at auction in fear that the next collector through might snap up “their” discovery.

Now in the 21^st century a new competitor has been added to the mix - the internet.   This one includes both dealers and auction houses.  In some ways it may be called the great equalizer.   Everyone including the private collector has the ability to send their message to an even wider public than the auction houses used to reach with their catalogs.  To everyone’s surprise collectors are even willing to bid and buy without actually viewing a work of art first hand.

All this has made the art world a little less intimate and the opportunities to have quiet and informative discussions with collectors and curators are often reduced to a quick conversation on the fly.  Thank goodness the collector who is not just looking for an alternative investment does still exist and curators still come to our gallery and we can sit down for a friendly chat.

**An apology:  A couple of weeks ago I wrote a missive on the exhibition, “The Steins Collect”.  There I substituted the Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier for the Villa Stein.  That has now been rectified in the Missive.

Maps of New Mexico

I have written about the Round House, New Mexico’s Capitol Building before and the Governor’s Gallery.  Currently there is a fascinating small exhibition in the latter of maps of New Mexico.  There are only about 30 maps in the show with roughly an equal number before and after New Mexico became a State in 1912 after many attempts to be accepted.

The capital of the State is Santa Fe and though the area had been occupied by Indians and Spaniards long before the city got its name, the city was Christened La Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asís in 1608 as a part of New Spain.  It has a long rich history.

 “Between the Lines: Culture and Cartography on the Road to Statehood” will run only another 10 days.  We had the opportunity to have a tour with the two curators of the exhibition, Tomas Jaehn, Director of  The Fray Angélico Chávez History Library which documents the history of the the State and the other was Professor Dennis Reinhartz, a native New Yorker who taught in England at Oxford University, spent 35 years at various universities in Texas and wrote 14 books on maps.  Judging from his presentation I might actually buy some!  (Images of both curators w. caption)

Tomas Jaehn

Dennis Reinhartz

I expected it to be quite dull but to my surprise what they had to say was totally fascinating.  One of the most interesting things I learned were the political aspects of maps. I had always believed that if it was on a map it was as accurate as possible for the time it was created.  It turns out this is not necessarily so. Early maps had lots of blank spaces on them and in the 18th century they often had illustrations occupying these spaces.  I thought that the blank spaces represented areas that had been unexplored.  While this may have been correct in some cases, we learned that the Spanish knew the Southwest far better than any of the other occupiers who were French, British, American and even Russian, but they considered much of their knowledge to be State secrets so there was an additional reason for the blank spaces.

The first thing I do when I see a list about something I am involved in is to look for my name.  In the case, of a map I look for where I live or a familiar landmark.  I am sure you know the slight let down if you cannot find it.  So what better way to disenfranchise people than to leave them out and that is exactly what was done with the Native Americans, they were often ignored on the maps!

Another obvious fact that I had never thought about is that maps always have a point of view.  They are made with a specific purpose and often show the prejudice of both the map maker and the person or Country that commissioned the map.  The terms “Cartographic Imperialism” and “Cartography follows Empire” were used.

Unintentional inaccuracies in maps can cause issues that can become expensive. The map chosen to establish the boundaries between the U.S. and Mexico after the war in 1848 was such a case.  Though drawn by an American, it placed El Paso 34 miles north and 100 miles east of its actual location.  This led to the Gadsden Purchase to correct the error in 1854 which cost the U.S. ten million dollars.

We received practical in formation as well.  That well loved map in your glove compartment has quickly garnered rips at the seems because it is made with cheap paper but the maps made before cheap inks and paper were invented were on vellum which not only lasts longer but when needed is easier to restore.

When I originally saw the exhibition I was interested in the history of the State and our town but now a whole new world has been opened up to me and I will never look at a map the same way again.

The Steins Collect

In New York for two days before heading back to Santa Fe we rushed over to the Metropolitan to see the exhibition, “The Steins Collect”.

The exhibition does something fairly new.  It focuses on the history of collecting.  It is becoming a subject of intense study. The Frick, in 2007, established in the Art Reference Library the Center for the History of Collecting.  The show is not just an exhibition of wonderful pictures but also about a family that became absorbed in the art of their time. 

Now everyone has heard of Gertrude Stein, thanks to her writings and even more so to her portraits by Picasso and others.  When reminded I did know the name of Michael Stein but the name Leo Stein I am not sure if I remembered.

It turns out that Leo was the collector who got his siblings involved. He moved to Paris in 1902 and his sister Gertrude followed in 1903.  In 1905 Michael and his wife Sarah left their home in San Francisco in order to come to Paris.  Michael was the family banker and their money came from investments and renting properties in the San Francisco area.

Obviously, the family was comfortable but not exactly wealthy.  Leo started buying paintings and Gertrude joined him.  They found they could not afford much of what they wanted so they decided to buy contemporary artists that were not yet in vogue.  It seems strange today to think of Picasso and Matisse as avant-garde or unknown, for that matter, but they like most young artists were scratching to make a living.  How things change, today some people think of Picasso as an old master!  When I started out Picasso was still alive and considered a modern master.

The Steins picked well but did not live long enough to gain large financial rewards from their collection.   Think about it, would you have collected Picasso in 1904?  Did you buy shares in Apple?

The exhibition opens with a small square gallery with white walls on which are projected black and white images of Leo and Gertrude’s home at 27 rue de Fleurus from 1904 to 1934 and the ever changing paintings that were on their walls. It is a perfect introduction to see how the artists’ styles and the Stein’s taste changed.

Michael and Sarah had even more avant-garde taste.  Though they were huge fans of Matisse they also adopted Picasso’s cubist style paintings and later became early patrons of Le Corbusier, commissioning him to build the Villa Stein (1926-28) in Garches, not far from Paris.

In the exhibition we see some of the classics of modern art such as one of my favorites, Picasso’s Boy Leading a horse (1905-1906), now in the Museum of Modern Art.

Also, some wonderful comparisons such as paintings of “La Coiffure” by Manguins 1905, Picasso 1906, and Matisse 1907.  These were not happenstance but artists in a small community learning, feeding off and competing with each other.

Aside from the wonderful art in the show, I had two very important lessons reinforced.  There are sayings such as “The squeaky wheel gets the grease”, and here we see it in a positive light.  Though the Steins were amazing collectors there were many collectors at the time who are not household names today, such as Jacques Doucet (1853-1929) but Gertrude did not only have her portraits painted but the Steins also opened their house every Saturday for a Salon to introduce the world to the art that they had ‘discovered’ and the artists they adopted.  They were great promoters and networkers, with lots of help from Gertrude, they did not hide their light under a bushel.

Sainte Anne: Leonardo da Vinci’s Ultimate Masterpiece

When we arrived in Paris we heard about this exhibition that was going to open to the public in a couple of days.  Of course we would want to see it but we were sure we would never get in.  From all we heard, getting into the Leonardo show in London was quite difficult with all the people who wanted to go.  It was a total surprise when we came to the Louvre the opening morning of the exhibition and walked right in.

JACQUES BRINON — AP Photo

The interest may build or maybe it is the idea of a whole exhibition focused on a single work makes people feel that it will be boring or that they will only see one work by the Master and it will be too scholarly.  This in fact is not the case.  Aside from Leonardo’s painting of St. Anne you have one of the full size cartoons for the picture from the National Gallery in London.  As an aside, in the 1960’s I saw the Cartoon at Burlington House. Then the cartoon was put up for sale and amid fears that it would leave the country it was acquired by the National Gallery in London.  With all the publicity that the sale brought there were huge lines to see it, while there had been none before.

The exhibition is wonderful.  We were treated to 22 drawings by Leonardo lent by Her Majesty the Queen which directly related to the St. Anne. Most of these are limbs and fragments of garment.   One of the best, if not the best, of the drawings was not lent by the Queen but by the Metropolitan Museum.  It shows the head of the virgin and in context absolutely blew me away.

Comparing this head with versions done by followers of the Master is an education in itself.  The differences are so obvious that one feels like an instant expert!

I love the fact that the exhibition is totally focused and commences with St. Anne, the Virgin and Christ Child as an ensemble through the ages before Leonardo, then most of the show is about the masterpiece itself.

In fact, Leonardo never finished the St. Anne and had worked on it from 1503 until his death in 1519.   During that time he had many changes of mind and many students to record them.  As a result we can follow the artist’s thought process during these years.  The most obvious change is the reversal of the figures in the composition and then there are changes in the attitude of St. Anne.  We also get frequent radical and less radical changes in the background of the painting.

The picture has been painstakingly cleaned and restored after years of research and analysis.  Of course, this led to serious disagreements such as whether paint added later, possibly by the master, should be kept or cleaned off.  The restoration was finished very shortly before the opening of the exhibition and I could imagine quite a bit of pressure to finally get it done.  The result, however, in my opinion, is pleasing and the luminosity of the picture and its myriad of details has all been brought to the fore.

After reaching the St. Anne itself we see a brief video about the development of Leonardo’s composition.

CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO

There are other related works such as Leonard’s Madonna of the Rocks which is in the Louvre collection.  There is also the contemporary copy of the Mona Lisa which caused a great sensation after the Prado had it cleaned it and discovered it’s close relationship with the original.  In my opinion, the picture has not been well served by the overzealous work done on it.

Click here to read related ART NEWSPAPER article.

The final segment of the exhibition is devoted to the influence that the painting has had since Leonardo starting with Michelangelo and ending with Max Ernst.

As you have read here before I want exhibitions to be tightly focused with the material presented bringing me to a total understanding of the subject at hand and I found the exhibition most satisfying. I was only sorry that I would not have time to return to see it again.

Le Salon du Dessin

Having done two weeks worth of viewing in one week in Florence we flew to Paris.  My main reason for coming was the Salon du Dessin but there is always much to do even without a special event.

The evening before the Salon opens there are openings at galleries on the Left Bank that show works on paper and we hit a few before heading over to the Louvre for a highlight of the week.

The drawings department of the Louvre invites many serious collectors, curators and dealers for a private viewing based on a theme.  This year it was about drawings made for engraving.  Drawings are put out on the walls and tables in the study room of the department. 

Louvre Drawings Room

The problem is there are no labels, so everyone guesses at their own attributions. There are two books put together with the details of all the images so you can check yourself.  One important collector said to me, “still no labels”, echoing what everyone in the room must have been thinking!  But it is all fun and here you begin to see all your colleagues, clients and friends from many different countries.   There is no lack of conversation in that room!

I hope you have all been enjoying the brief videos that we have added to the blog and in this week’s on Paris you will see the fabulous drawings’ study room at the Louvre

The next evening is the opening for the Salon du Dessin, an international fair of top drawing dealers.  This year there are 39 dealers in all with slightly more foreign than French.  They come from Germany, Switzerland, England and the U.S. as well.

Salon du Dessin

I went to the Salon 3 times in the week. The first was for the opening which was an absolute mob scene, but for the dealers it seems to have been well worth while.  Going back the next day, things were quieter and many dealers had a number of dots on their drawings or price lists and one even had 18 prices crossed out on their list which was their way of saying these pieces were no longer available.  In the section devoted to drawings by unidentified artists two had been sold.  This all being in the first 24 hours of the fair it seems like a great start.  One dealer had a wonderful picture by a famous artist that I have seen at several fairs and exhibitions and finally it sold here on opening night!

On several stands I heard a strange lament.  Dealers who were doing both TEFAF and the Salon had sold items at TEFAF that were now not available for the Salon.   We all work hard to sell something and when we do we would like to do so again and again, unfortunately it doesn’t work that way.

Also, there are zeitgeists and you will find many works by the same artist on different stands.  This year the ones that stood out to me were Menzel, Delacroix and Domenico Tiepolo.

If I could pick just one object in the place to take home it would definitely be the Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) that I found front and center on the stand of Thomas LeClaire from Hamburg.  It is called  “Le Mur du Jardin Potager, Yerres”.  A large (43.5 x 59 cm) sheet of a very colorful garden created by a great painter assisted by an excellent gardener and by my third visit that had sold as well.

"Le Mur du Jardin Potager, Yerres" by Caillebotte

Firenze

After 4 trains several taxis and a plane from Dussledorf we arrived at our hotel, The Albergotto, in Florence.  It is a very nice and hospitable bread and breakfast opposite the Palazzo Strozzi in the Via Turnaboni.

So, what do you do most in Florence?  Walk and gawk!  The town is not that large and it has many pedestrian zones so taxis are impractical.  The bicycles and motorcycles, however, go wherever they wish and the streets are not very wide. 

Via Santo Spirito

The Via Santa Spirito was a main thoroughfare into town in the 15th century.  Carriages were only introduced in the mid 16th century and by then it was too late to widen the streets!  Of course, along the way you stop in your tracks to stare at the incredible sights be they across the Arno or staring at a church, Cathedral or other architectural wonder.  When you arrive at your destination, be it a museum or church again you stare and ogle with guidebook or Iphone in your hand to try to read up at the same time.

Across the Arno

The town seems overrun with students like Fort Lauderdale at Spring Break, but in this case they are students of all ages with teachers trying to teach against all odds.  So one races to beat the large school groups to the door of the church or museum.  Happily in some cases one can purchase tickets in advance, which allow entry through a separate door.

The first day we did a guided tour of Brunelleschi’s Florence.  The dome of the Duomo is his architectural triumph, but the Pazzi Chapel in Santa Croche shows his minimalist style. The colorful ceramic roundels are added by Lucca della Robbia.

Dome of the Duomo

Pazzi Chapel

Though Brunelleschi may have revolutionized architecture I, for one, am very grateful to the patrons such as the Pazzi’s and Cosimo de Medici who also liked a little decoration in in their lives.  Cosimo also hired Donatello to give relief to the architecture.

Of course, one of the many MUSTS of Florence is the Uffizi. the museum with many of the greatest two dimensional treasures of the town or world for that matter.  Probably the most famous are the Botticelli of the Primavera and the Birth of Venus.   But these are not necessarily the most important.  How do you pick between the Cimabues, the Giottos, the Duccio, the Lorenzo Monacos, the Ghirlandaios,  the huge Hugo van der Goes triptych, it just goes on and on.

We wandered into churches that were not necessarily on the top of anyone’s list and found treasures even in these.  The church of Orsanmichele has a gallery above that is open only one day a week.  There we found the amazing sculptures that were once on the outside of the church and are now replaced by copies.  One truly gets the monumentality when looking up at these marbles and bronzes up close.   Here we have the Giovanni da Bologna of Saint Luke.

Giovanni de Bologna of Saint Luke

The Bargello, the National sculpture museum, has many of the bronze sculptures that have been taken from the buildings and loggia in order to protect them from the elements.  Unfortunately, the floor with all the small bronzes was closed and they did not know when it would reopen.  When I think of those rooms I have to think of my parents who in the 1930’s received a sculpture tour of Florence by none other than Leo Planischig, the guy who wrote the books, including one called “Piccoli bronzi italiani del rinascimento.”  Boy, I wish I had been on that tour… you probably do too!

I feel a bit overwhelmed trying to do a blog on Florence.  one can only write in superlatives when it comes to the art. 

TEFAF - Maastricht - 2012

Returning to New York from Santa Fe for a few days we then flew to Brussels to take the train to Maastricht and attend TEFAF, The European Fine Art Fair.  What Basel and the Venice Biennale are to the contemporary art world TEFAF is to the old master world. At TEFAF the dealers show many different fields, periods and countries.  They include paintings, drawings, decorative arts, sculpture and a whole lot more.

One of the pictures seemed to show just how we felt and we named it 'Early Jet Lag'.  It is an 1851 watercolor by Adolfo Menzel showing a couple traveling in a first class carriage on the train, nothing has changed, except we get there faster!

"On the Train" by Adolfo Menzel

First day in Maastricht is to get acclimatized and shake off as much jet lag as possible.  We are staying at the intimate and atmospheric Hotel Orangerie.  Ubiquitous with Maastricht at this time of year are TEFAF signs, triple the normal hotel rates and as always the bicycles.  The children must learn to bike at the same time as they learn to walk.

The fair itself takes place in the Maastricht Exposition Hall known as the MECC.

Maastricht Exhibition Hall

TEFAF has opened and it seems like the world has descended. 10,413 people poured through the doors to see the 288 exhibitors on its, invitation only, opening day.  Last year there were over 72,000 visitors to TEFAF during its 10 days.  Who knows if the record will be broken again.  Museum directors and curators from all over were at the show.  Of course, some had served on the very serious vetting committees and they had already been there for several days.

Shortly after the doors opened I heard a man say to his wife very quickly, "it's a million dollars", as if you say it fast enough, it seems like less!  A Woman coming in who obviously had a goal at the other end of the fair said to her friend:  "Are you capable of walking by all these other booths?"  That is a challenge because almost in every booth there is at least one work of art you would like to see up close.

This is TEFAF’s Jubilee years.  In its 25-year existence this fair has survived starting out and staying in a small Dutch town on a European border, boom times and recession with a number of prestigious dealers both entering and exiting as exhibitors.  Though one might consider one year better than another, on the whole it is always strong and one finds objects in one field or another to salivate over!  They have produced a second catalog this year to go with their usual huge tome celebrating their Jubilee.  There I found many museum directors and curators who had brought groups and purchased works of art making tributes.  TEFAF has by now proven an institution in the art world that has been beneficial to participants and visitors alike.

It is hard to pick favorites.  I have already illustrated “Early Jet Lag” above and here are a few others.

Of particular note was the bronze at the Tomasso Brothers by Giovanni Francesco Susinni representing the Farnese Bull after a Roman 16 foot marble statue found in the Baths of Caracalla  in Rome and moved to Naples.  A most incredible feet of engineering.

"Farnese Bull" by Susinni

It compares with the Los Angeles County Museum moving its 340 ton rock from the Riverside quarry to  to the Museum recently.  The complex composition of the bronze both copies the marble and at the same time conveys the monumentality of the original.

At di Castro were a pair of French 18th century terracotta reliefs of Chinoiserie Subjects and a marvelous relief by Soldani Benzi representing “The Mystical Marriage of St. Rose of Lima”.

"The Mystical Marriage of St. Rose of Lima" by Soldani Benzi

A painting that appealed was a small Canaletto of the Torre di Marghera, the identical scene as one painted by another famous 18th century Venetian artist Bellotto as well as several others.

"Torre di Marghera" by Canaletto

So much to choose from one could stay and make discoveries for a week!