Category: Discoveries
'Now, lot 32 - the really rubbish fake. Do I hear €500k?'
June 1 2011
Picture: Der Spiegel
German police have smashed a highly succesful forgery racket. Believed to be Germany's largest ever forgery scandal, the victims included Hollywood actor Steve Martin, and Christie's.
The above painting, 'Landscape with Horses', was sold as a genuine work by Heinrich Campendonk at Christie's in 2006 for €500,000. (I would link to it on their website, but, mysteriously, the lot has been removed). It had in fact been knocked up by Wolfgang Beltracchi, and his accomplice Otto Schulte-Kellinghaus. They had been producing high-quality fake modern and contemporary art since 2001, and possibly earlier. From Der Spiegel:
The accused allegedly attributed almost all of the forged works to artists from the first half of the 20th century, including Campendonk, Max Pechstein, Fernand Léger, Max Ernst and others. Most of the works were sold with now 60-year-old Beltracchi's story that they were part of the art collection of Cologne businessman Werner Jägers, who was the grandfather of the two female suspects in the case. Jägers was said to have bought the works from the renowned art dealer Alfred Flechtheim and hidden them on his estate in the Eifel Mountains of western Germany during the Nazi years. Schulte-Kellinghaus allegedly used a similar ruse, claiming the paintings, which were supposedly lost, originated from the collection of his grandfather, the master tailor Knops from Krefeld.
I've often heard it said that buying modern and contemporary art is a safer investment than old masters, because there are never any doubts over authenticity. But, alas, that's a load of old phooey. And it's practically impossible to fake an old master.
New date for 'Leonardo?' court case
May 30 2011
The case of Marchig vs. Christie's returns to court on 24th June.
The dispute involves the drawing, above, sold in 1998 by Christie's as 19thC German School for $19,000. A subsequent owner now claims it is by Leonardo, and worth $100m. Unsurprisingly, the vendor at Christie's, Jeanne Marchig, has been trying to take Christie's to court. But she has so far lost her case because the relevant statute of limitations in New York (6 years) has expired.
Marchig has sought leave to appeal the limitations decision. If she wins, then the far more difficult case of is it or is it not a Leonardo will come before the court. And since at the last count an impressive array of scholars do not think it is by Leonardo, who knows where we'll end up. For a fuller discussion on the case's implications see here.
And if you're really keen, the case is being heard at 2pm, 500 Pearl Street, in the Ceremonial Courtroom, 9th floor.
On the joys of being an art dealer
May 27 2011
The recession may continue to throw up challenges for art dealers - some say that this year’s European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht was pretty gloomy - but there is still plenty of fun to be had 'in the trade'.
For me, the most exciting part of art dealing is that you never know where the fickle of finger of fate might point you, be it the pictures you encounter, or the people you meet.
Every week I look at hundreds of paintings for sale around the world, and though much of it is little better than the stuff you find on the railings outside Hyde Park, probably at least one will be worth buying. [More below]
Another happy ending
May 24 2011
A triptych stolen from Italy and bought by the Speed Museum in Kentucky in 1973, has been returned to its owners.
The picture, thought to be by Jacopo da Casentino (d.1358), was one of 14 works of art stolen in a raid on an Italian Villa, now thought to be worth $33m. The Speed Museum paid $38,000 for it, unwittingly, and has no insurance to cover the loss.
In the basement
May 9 2011
Picture: Victoria & Albert Museum
I said recently that I would post the occasional ‘in the basement’ story, to highlight the risks of deaccessioning. Tomorrow (Tuesday), I will be a panelist at a conference on deaccessioning at the National Gallery, London. Speakers include Culture Minister Ed Vaizey MP, Chairman of the National Trust Sir Simon Jenkins, and the director of the National Gallery Dr. Nicholas Penny. My panel is at the end of the day, in the dying-for-a-drink slot.
I suspect most of the day will be spent debating whether deaccessioning is a good or a bad thing – but the fact is that the process has begun. A large number of regional and local authority controlled museums in Britain are already selling off works.
Above is a painting in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. It is catalogued on their website as ‘attributed to Joseph Highmore’, but is undoubtedly by Andrea Soldi. (See J. Ingamells: ‘Andrea Soldi—a Check List of his Work’, Walpole Soc., xlvii (1980), pp. 1–20 for other comparable examples.)
Who's Soldi, you might ask? True, he’s not a well-known artist, and it’s a not a particularly exciting painting (and nor am I suggesting that the V&A would ever sell it). But the point is that you can’t decide to sell something until you know what you have to sell. There are many similar mis-catalogued paintings in museum basements across the country. And we need to have a structure in place to make sure no unfortunate mistakes are made. [More below]
Watch a sleeper sell
May 4 2011
Here's a fascinating video of a potential sleeper being sold at auction in Paris. The painting, titled Cinq Personnages de la Comedie Italienne, was catalogued as 'circle of Watteau', with an estimate of EUR 40-60,000. It sold for EUR 1m, excluding buyer's premium.
Here is the original cataloguing. The central figure related to a drawing by Antoine Watteau, but there was also speculation it could be by Jean-Baptiste Pater. Doubtless it'll surface again, and I'll put news of it here if it does.
Stolen Goya & El Greco recovered
April 18 2011
Police in Spain have recovered two pictures by El Greco (La Anunciacion, detail above), and La Aparaicion de la Virgen del Pilar by Goya. They had been missing since the late 1990s.
More here. If I can find better photos, I'll put them up.
'The one that got away' - a newly discovered Rothko at Christie's
April 13 2011
Christie's will offer a previously unknown painting by Mark Rothko on May 11th, proving that you can even make discoveries with modern art. 'Untitled No.17', painted in 1961, was bought directly from the artist, and had never been heard of or seen since:
“It’s one of the very few that got away,” said David Anfam, London-based art historian and the author of “Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas.” “It went to a private collection soon after it was made and those collectors just kept a very low profile.”
The estimate is $18-22m. More here. Earlier this year, another newly discovered work by Andy Warhol made $17.4m. Sod finding lost Old Masters - I need to make find me one of these lost modern things.
Eisenhower speech on saving art in WW2 found
April 1 2011
Picture: AP
'Ike' was no orator, but this newly discovered speech is well worth a listen. It relates Eisenhower's rationale behind his decision to help save the thousands of works of art looted by the Nazis.
We've been researching the work of Ike's 'Monuments Men' (those who helped find the stolen art) for our new BBC1 series, Fake or Fortune. We all have a lot to thank them, and Eisenhower, for.
The real lost Picasso?
March 27 2011
Police in Turkey have seized a painting being touted as a 'lost Picasso' stolen from the Kuwait National Museum in 1990 by Iraqi forces.
However, this tale seems strikingly familiar to an attempted con in 2009, when Iraqi police seized a similarly described painting (illustrated above) being offered for $10million. There are in fact no records of the Kuwait National Museum losing such a picture, and nothing like it is listed with the Art Loss Register.
Is this the artworld equivalent to those 'you've won the Nigerian lottery' emails?
More optimism
March 24 2011
The Daily Mail reports:
A man who bought a painting because he 'liked the frame' and then stored it in his attic ever since has been stunned to discover it could be a £40m masterpiece.
Auctioneers have examined the painting thought to bare the signature of renowned French post-impressionist master, Paul Cezanne.
If it is proved to be authentic, it will be the earliest known work to have been created by the painter and could be worth a fortune, experts claim.
'It wasn't until I was reading an art book [the owner said] that I started to compare it to Cezanne and then I carefully unravelled it so I could see the markings. I realised that I could be looking at the first-ever Paul Cezanne painting.'
'I'll be keeping it very safe until an expert can confirm what I believe.'
I fear he may be keeping it safe for a long time...
Better photo of that new Van Dyck
March 22 2011
Picture: RASF, Madrid
A slightly better image of the newly discovered Van Dyck I mentioned earlier.
Some gems amongst the crowds at Maastricht
March 18 2011
It was a mistake to go to the European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht on the opening day - too many people. If you happened upon a swarm of freeloaders around a canape tray, it actually became impossible to move.
Still, there were some fine pictures on display. Jack Kilgore had what I thought was the discovery of the fair, a work by the young Rubens. [More below]
Van Dyck discovered in Spain
March 18 2011
This is exciting - a lost painting by Van Dyck appears to have been found in the stores of a Spanish Museum. The Virgin and Child Adored by Penitent Sinners is in the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid.
The news reports are sketchy and describe the painting as 'previously unknown'. I see from the 2004 catalogue raisonne, however, that there was a reference to a similarly titled work in the Spanish Royal Collection in 1681, so perhaps this is it. There is another version in the Louvre (below), in which the central penitent figure holds a different position. In 2004, Horst Vey described the Louvre version as being in bad condition. Perhaps the newly discovered version is in better shape - certainly, the hands and face of the central figure are more compelling than in the Louvre version.
I've asked the Academy of San Fernando for a better photo - I'll put it up here if I get it.
Geschlossen
March 7 2011
Picture: Tate.
Greetings from Berlin, where I've come for the day to see a painting. Sadly, all the major galleries are geschlossen on Mondays, so there's not much art historical to report. I'm now at the airport, wondering if the implausibly cheap little chunks of 'Berlin Wall' on offer are real. Probably not.
In other news, the world's most expensive painting has gone on display at Tate. Naturally, it's a Picasso. I'm glad they've organised some half plausible art handlers for the photo-op - but I wouldn't recommend trying to hang your own $100m painting whilst standing on a ladder...
A new Mabuse?
March 2 2011
A reader has kindly sent me this image, which is an old photo of a painting stolen from a Croatian monastery in 1972. The Madonna and Child was believed by the Franciscan monks of Dubrovnik to be by Mabuse, or Jan Gossart, the star of the National Gallery's new show.
Of course, it is impossible to tell at this distance, but the painting is certainly Mabuse/Gossart/Gossaert-like. The composition is similar to that seen in the c.1520 Mauritshuis/Rijksmuseum Virgin and Child with the Veil, which is no.10 in Maryan Ainsworth's splendid new monograph.
The features and drapery in the Dubrovnik picture seem rather hard, and the pattern was quite widely copied. Nonetheless, it is worth a closer look - so if you know where it is, pray tell... [More Below]
'Now, for the Rubens estimated at £4-6m... do I hear £1m?'
February 23 2011
Picture: Sotheby's
Martin Bailey of the Art Newspaper has flagged up some astonishing developments in the case of the Rubens/notRubens portrait that was stopped for export in January.
I discussed earlier the difficulties the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art must have had when deciding whether to stop the painting being exported, given the uncertainty over the attribution. Now, however, the story has taken a bizarre twist. It reveals the immense power of the single acknowledged expert, and the potential pitfalls of submitting a painting to the Reviewing Committee.
The basic facts are; [more below]
Lost Sickert to be Sold
February 21 2011
A previously unknown work by Walter Sickert will be auctioned in London on 9th March. Blind Beggar was found in Scotland. Bonham's estimate is £40-60,000.
Van Gogh's Dying Sunflowers
February 15 2011
An international team of scientists has analysed the fading pigments used by Van Gogh, most notably his yellow. The findings confirm that over time his yellows have become brown, and will continue to get browner.
Van Gogh's original use of ultra-bright colours was dependent on the limited type of pigments available at the time. Inevitably, they will not last as well as pigments available later on, when paint companies had to cater for the very style that Van Gogh and his like had created.
Of course, Van Gogh was not the only artist who had trouble with his 'fugitive pigments'. Joshua Reynolds mixed his own experimental pigments, usually not very well. He had a particular problem with his reds and pinks. As a result, many of his portraits look like ghosts today.
Will future generations wonder why Van Gogh was so interested in dead flowers?
A New Raphael self-portrait?
February 11 2011
Picture: Alessandro Vezzosi & Scripta Maneant
A new book claims that a little known copy of Raphael's self-portrait is in fact by Raphael himself. The picture, which follows the Uffizi image, has been in a bank vault for many years.
You can flip through a section of the new book, and zoom in on the pictures, here.
It's hard to tell from the photos, but the 'new' picture is clearly much better than the ubiquitous copies one sees of the Uffizi image. Judging by the faded blue pigments of the background it appears to have some age to it. Elements of the face, such as the nose and lips, are well observed.
Intriguing...
