Artworks that mention "Koetser" in the provenance data source: Boston Museum of Fine Arts website |
Research question: could art market networks or patterns emerge from the study of an art dealer across numerous client institutions? In an initial approach, we look at mentions of the art dealer "Koetser" in provenances from diverse sources.
Like Speelman, with whom Koetser sometimes does business, Koetser appears in the provenance of numerous paintings at institutions such as the Seattle Art Museum, the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands.
In 2020, the Max Stern Art Restitution Project announced that "Swiss art dealer, David Koetser, and the Stern Foundation reach a settlement on Jan Brueghel the Elder’s most important woodland scene. The National Gallery of Art in Washington then acquires the painting"
Below are a few examples of the Koetser name in provenance texts:
Koetser appeared in the provenance of artworks by these artists data source: Holocaust collection 2005 Seattle Museum of Art |
1. Koetser in the "Holocaust" Collection at the Seattle Art Museum
Holocaust Provenance
Francesco Bassano
Italian, 1549-1592
The Adoration of the Magi, c. 1575
oil on canvas
61 5/8 in. x 81 5/8 in.
Gift of the Clarence A. Black Memorial Collection, 50.76
Provenance
to 1946 Lord Rothermere, England;
1946 - 1950 David M. Koetser Gallery
accessioned 03/14/1950 Seattle Art Museum
_________________
Holocaust Provenance
Abraham Hendricksz. van Beyeren
Dutch, c. 1620/21-1690
Banquet Still Life, c. 1653-55
oil on canvas
42 1/8 x 45 1/2 in. (107 x 115.6 cm)
Gift of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 61.146
Provenance
1890 - 1891 Francis Charles Hastings Russell, England;
1891 - 1893 George William Francis Sackville Russell, England; (by inheritance)
1893 - 1940 Herbrand Arthur Russell Bedford, England; (by inheritance)
1940 - 1951 Hastings William Sackville Russell Bedford, England; (by inheritance)
1951 - ? W. Sabin
to 1954 David M. Koetser Gallery
1954 - 1961 Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York
accessioned 12/09/1961 Seattle Art Museum
____________________
Holocaust Provenance
Luca Carlevaris
Italian, 1663-1730/1
The Doge's Palace and the Grand Canal, Venice, c. 1710
oil on canvas
37 3/4 x 75 3/4 in. (95.9 x 192.4 cm)
Gift of Floyd A. Naramore, 50.70
Provenance
c. 1710 - ? Mr. Crowe, England; (possibly)
Squire of Stoke Rockford, C. Turner, England;
to 1924 Christie's London
Lord Rothermere, England;
to 1950 David M. Koetser Gallery
accessioned 05/01/1950 Seattle Art Museum
____________________
Holocaust Provenance
Luca Giordano
Italian, 1632-1705
The Triumph of Neptune, c. 1692-1702
oil on canvas
78 x 101 in. (198.1 x 256.5 cm)
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 54.161
Provenance
Charles II, King of Spain, d.; 1700
1700? Earl of Pembroke, England;
sold between 1907 and 1954 Earl of Pembroke, England;
to 1954 David M. Koetser Gallery
accessioned 12/14/1954 Seattle Art Museum"
______________________
Holocaust Provenance
Alessandro Magnasco
Italian, 1677-1749
Landscape with Figures, 1677-1749
oil on canvas
28 1/2 x 34 in. (72.39 x 86.36 cm) Overall h.: 34 1/2 in. Overall w.: 40 in.
Margaret E. Fuller Purchase Fund, 57.58
Provenance
Horatio Granville Murray Stewart ?
to 1957 David M. Koetser Gallery
accessioned 01/04/1957 Seattle Art Museum"
______________________
Holocaust Provenance
Giovanni Paolo Panini
Italian, 1692-1765
Coastal Scene, 1730
oil on canvas
40 3/4 x 51 in. (103.51 x 129.54 cm)
Margaret E. Fuller Purchase Fund, 59.64
Provenance
to 1959 David M. Koetser Gallery
accessioned 04/02/1959 Seattle Art Museum"
_____________________
Holocaust Provenance
Andrea Previtali
Italian, 1470-1528
Head of Christ, c. 1517
oil on panel
17 15/16 x 13 3/4 in.
Margaret E. Fuller Purchase Fund, 54.163
Provenance
to 1954 David M. Koetser Gallery
accessioned 12/14/1954 Seattle Art Museum"
_____________________
Holocaust Provenance
Emanuel de Witte
Dutch, 1616/18-1692
Interior of a Protestant Gothic Church, ca. 1670
oil on wood panel
18 7/8 x 16 1/2 in. (48 x 41.9 cm)
Gift of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 61.176
Provenance
Lady Cosmo Bevan, Dorking, Surrey, England;
to 1951 Lady Islington, England;
1951 - 1954 David M. Koetser Gallery
1954 - 1961 Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York
accessioned 12/09/1961 Seattle Art Museum"
_____________________
Holocaust Provenance
Jakob van Oost
Flemish, 1603-71
Boys Blowing Bubbles, 1640s
oil on canvas
35 5/8 x 47 3/4 in. (90.5 x 121.3 cm)
Gift of Mr. Floyd Naramore, 58.140
Provenance
Miss S. Morant and Miss V. E. Morant, England;
to 1958 David M. Koetser Gallery
accessioned 12/30/1958 Seattle Art Museum"
______________________
Holocaust Provenance
Emanuel de Witte
Dutch, 1616/18-1692
Interior of a Protestant Gothic Church, ca. 1670
oil on wood panel
18 7/8 x 16 1/2 in. (48 x 41.9 cm)
Gift of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 61.176
Provenance
Lady Cosmo Bevan, Dorking, Surrey, England;
to 1951 Lady Islington, England;
1951 - 1954 David M. Koetser Gallery
1954 - 1961 Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York
accessioned 12/09/1961 Seattle Art Museum"
----
source: Seattle Art Museum 2005 The Collection
Holocaust Provenance
source: Seattle Art Museum 2005 The Collection
Holocaust Provenance
Koetser appears in art by these artists in items the National Gallery of Art in Washington listed on the Nazi Era Provenance Internet Portal |
2. National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.) artworks listed on the Nazi Era Provenance Internet Portal which contain "Koetser" in the provenance:
1957.14.5 Charity
before 1530 oil on paneloverall: 119.5 x 92.5 cm (47 1/16 x 36 7/16 in.)framed: 154.3 x 128.9 x 12.1 cm (60 3/4 x 50 3/4 x 4 3/4 in.)Samuel H. Kress Collection1957.14.5 On View...; possibly purchased by Ripp.[2] Hugh Andrew Johnstone Munro of Novar [d. 1865], London and Novar, Highland, Scotland; (Munro sale, Christie's, London, 1 June 1878, no. 101); purchased by Permain. Presumably Thomas Humphrey Ward [1845-1926], Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England; (David M. Koetser Gallery, New York, London, and Zurich); sold 1954 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[3] gift 1957 to NGA.
[1] According to G. Vasari, Le Vite, Milan, 1880: 5:50.[2] On the preceding two sales, see G. Redford, Art Sales, London, 1888: 2:251 and A. Graves, Art Sales From Early in the Eighteenth Century to Early in the Twentieth Century, London, 1921: 3:140.[3] According to W.E. Suida and F.R. Shapley, Paintings and Sculpture from the Kress Collection, Washington, 1956: 22. https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.43724.html
2012.99.1 "River Scene with Windmill and Boats, Evening
c. 1645 oil on panel overall: 18.42 × 26.67 cm (7 1/4 × 10 1/2 in.)framed: 29.21 x 36.83 cm (11 1/2 x 14 1/2 in.)Gift of Robert H. and Clarice Smith 2012.99.1On ViewPrivate collection, Lugano, by c. 1955; purchased through (anonymous dealer, Austria) by (David M. Koetser Gallery, Zurich);
[1] purchased April 1998 by Robert H. [1928-2009] and Clarice Smith, Arlington, VA; by inheritance to Clarice Smith; gift 2012 to NGA.[1] Wolfgang Schulz, Aert Van Der Neer, Doornspijk, 2002: 432, no. 1239, fig. 266; letter, David Koetser to Robert Smith, 20 March 1998, copy in NGA curatorial files. https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.106339.html
1952.5.34 Countess Ebba Sparre
1652/1653 oil on canvas overall: 106.1 x 90.2 cm (41 3/4 x 35 1/2 in.)framed: 139.7 x 123.2 x 12.7 cm (55 x 48 1/2 x 5 in.)Samuel H. Kress Collection1952.5.34 On View... Grittleton House, Wiltshire; by inheritance to his brother, Sir John Neeld, 1st bt. [1805-1891], Grittleton House; by inheritance to his son, Sir Algernon William Neeld, 2nd bt. [1846-1900], Grittleton House; by inheritance to his brother, Sir Audley Dallas Neeld, 3rd bt. [1849-1941], Grittleton House; by inheritance to Joseph Neeld's descendant through an illegitimate daughter, Lionel William [Inigo-Jones] Neeld [d. 1956], Grittleton House; (Neeld sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 13 July 1945, no. 52, as Portrait of Christina of Sweden); purchased by Kaye.[3] (Wildenstein & Co., Paris, New York, and London); sold 1947 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York; gift 1952 to NGA.
[1] .... Jeremiah Harman was head of a London banking house and had his own collection of paintings that was auctioned after his death in 1844.[3] Neeld's purchase at the Maitland sale is according to an annotated auction catalogue at the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, and the painting is recorded in a 1913 manuscript copy of an 1851 manuscript catalogue of the Neeld collection (see letter from Martha Hepworth of the Getty Index dated 13 March 1986 in NGA curatorial files). In a letter of 20 January 1969 to Colin Eisler (copy in NGA curatorial files), the dealer David M. Koetser writes that among the paintings he sold to the Kress Foundation was "...indirectly...Sebastian Bourdon's 'Queen Christina'." It is possible that "Kaye" was a pseudonym used by Koetser at the 1945 sale, and that he was buying for the Foundation. https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.41646.html
1961.9.66 Portrait of a Donor
c. 1470/1475oil on hardboard transferred from panelpainted surface: 25.7 x 20.6 cm (10 1/8 x 8 1/8 in.)overall (panel): 27.2 x 22.2 cm (10 11/16 x 8 3/4 in.)framed: 43.5 x 38.1 x 6.9 cm (17 1/8 x 15 x 2 11/16 in.)Samuel H. Kress Collection1961.9.66 Not on ViewJohn Osmaston, Osmaston Manor, Derbyshire, by 1879.[1] Alfred Brown, Brighton, by 1906.[2] Mrs. M. A. T. Slark; (sale, Christie's, London, 25 June 1948, no. 67, as by Jan van Eyck); acquired by (David M. Koetser Gallery, New York, London, and Zurich).[3] (M. Knoedler & Co., New York, by 1950); on joint account with (Thomas Agnew and Sons, London) and (Pinakos, Inc [Rudolf Heinemann], New York); purchased February 1952 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York; [4] gift 1961 to NGA.
[1] John Osmaston is listed as owner in Exhibition of Works by the Old Masters and by Deceased Masters of the British School, London, Royal Academy of the Arts, 1879, no. 218 (as Jan van Eyck).[2] Alfred Brown is listed as owner in Exhibition of Works by Flemish and Modern Belgian Painters, London, Art Gallery of the Corporation of London (Guildhall), 1906, no. 4 (as John van Eyck).[3] Seller and buyer per annotated auctioneer catalogue, Christie's Archive, London.[4] Knoedler stock book no. 10, p. 40, no. A3945, and sales book no. 16, p. 383, M Knoedler and Co.Records, Getty Research Institute (copies NGA curatorial files).
https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.46165.html
1961.9.53 The Porta Portello, Padua
c. 1741/1742 oil on canvasoverall: 62 x 109 cm (24 7/16 x 42 15/16 in.)framed: 123.8 x 77.5 x 5.4 cm (48 3/4 x 30 1/2 x 2 1/8 in.)Samuel H. Kress Collection 1961.9.53 On ViewL.T.N. Gould, Suffolk; sold 1943 to (P & D Colnaghi & Co., London); sold later that year to Francis F. Madan, London, as by Bellotto;[1] (his sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 15 July 1955, no. 88, as by Canaletto); purchased by H. Cevat;[2] (David M. Koetser Gallery, New York, London, and Zurich); purchased 1957 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York; gift 1961 to NGA.
[1] See letter dated 8 May 1990 from Nadia E. Awad of the Getty Index, in NGA curatorial files. [2] Christie's annotated sale catalogue lists the purchaser as "H. Cevat." https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.46152.html
2002.122.1 Still Life with Asparagus and Red Currants
1696 oil on canvas overall: 34 x 25 cm (13 3/8 x 9 13/16 in.)The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund2002.122.1On ViewBaroness Irene von der Becke-Klüchtzner. "property of a gentleman"; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 8 July 1977, no. 84); (David Koetser Gallery, Zurich); private collection; (David Koetser Gallery, Zurich); purchased 7 October 2002 by NGA. https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.125313.html
1961.9.20 Cardinal Francesco Cennini
1625oil on canvasoverall: 117.4 x 96.2 cm (46 1/4 x 37 7/8 in.)framed: 147.6 x 126.7 x 6.9 cm (58 1/8 x 49 7/8 x 2 11/16 in.)Samuel H. Kress Collection1961.9.20On ViewDr. J. Seymour Maynard, London; (his sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 29 January 1954, no. 58);[1] (Thomas Agnew and Sons, London); sold that same day to (David M. Koetser Gallery, New York, London, and Zurich);[2] purchased 1955 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[3] gift 1961 to NGA.
[1] Charles Beddington of the Old Master Picture Department at Christie's checked their records and found no earlier provenance for the painting; he suggested that, as Maynard was a frequenter of the London sale rooms, he may have purchased the picture at Sotheby's (letter of 2 January 1991 in NGA curatorial files). No reference to the painting appears in sales indexes prior to 1954.
[2] Stockbooks, Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, no. 1185
[3] According to Fern Rusk Shapley, Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Italian Schools XVI-XVIII Century, London, 1973: 78, and Fern Rusk Shapley, Catalogue of Italian Paintings, 2 vols., Washington, D.C., 1979: 1:246. https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.46119.html
1961.9.75 Still Life with Sweets and Pottery
1627oil on canvasoverall: 84.5 x 112.7 cm (33 1/4 x 44 3/8 in.)framed: 106 x 136.2 x 7.6 cm (41 3/4 x 53 5/8 x 3 in.)Samuel H. Kress Collection1961.9.75On ViewPossibly Diego de Messía Felípez de Guzmán, Marquès de Leganés, Madrid, 1655.[1]
Private collection, Florence, by 1950.[2] (Victor Spark, New York), at least 1952 to 1954.[3] (David M. Koetser Gallery, New York, London, and Zurich);[4] purchased 1955 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York; gift 1961 to NGA.
[1] William B. Jordan, Spanish Still Life in the Golden Age 1600-1650 (exh. cat., Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, 1985: 135), raises the possibility that this painting is identical to one owned by Leganés at his death in 1655. The marquis owned several still lifes by van der Hamen, including one described in his inventory (no. 97) as "otro banquete de la misma mano y tamaño (i.e. 2 baras poco mas o menos de alto y una y media de ancho), con cajas de conserbas, an carastillo de diferentes dulces y brearos" (another banquet of the same hand and size, with boxes of conserves, a basket of varied sweets and drinking cups). As Jordan notes, the dimensions are significantly different from those of 1961.9.75 (84.2 x 112.0 versus c. 167.2 x 135.4). He suggests that a scribe's error may be responsible for the discrepancy. Certainly the vertical dimensions seem excessive for a still life of this type.
[2] Roberto Longhi, "Un momento importante nella storia dell 'Natura Morta,'" Paragone 1 (1950): 34-39, pl. 16.
[3] Recorded as owner in the exhibition catalogue La nature morte de l'antiquité a nos jours, Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, April-September 1952, no. 72, and in Allan Gwynne-Jones, Introduction to Still-Life (London, 1954: 66-67, no. 59).
[4] Letter from David Rust to William Jordan, 6 June 1969, in NGA curatorial files. https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.46174.html
2012.73.2 View Down a Dutch Canal
c. 1670oil on paneloverall: 32.5 × 39 cm (12 13/16 × 15 3/8 in.)Gift of George M. and Linda H. Kaufman2012.73.2On ViewHenry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk [1847-1917], by 1880;[1] by inheritance to his son, Bernard Marmaduke Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk [1908-1975]; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 11 February 1938, no. 99); B. de Geus van den Heuvel [1886-1976], Nieuwersluis; (his estate sale, Sotheby Mak van Waay B.V. at Round Lutheran Church, Singel, Amsterdam, 26-27 April 1976, no. 23); (David Koetser, Zurich); private collection, West Berlin; on consignment with (Hoogsteder-Naumann, New York); purchased 1986 by George M. [1932-2001] and Linda H. Kaufman, Norfolk, Virginia; Kaufman Americana Foundation, Norfolk; gift 2012 to NGA.
[1] The painting was lent by the duke to the 1880 Winter Exhibition at the Royal Academy in London. It is not yet known when or where the Dukes of Norfolk acquired it. See the entry on the painting by Ben Broos in Great Dutch Paintings from America, exh. cat., Mauritshuis, The Hague; The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, The Hague and Zwolle, 1990: no. 31, 280-284. https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.135093.html
2013.1.1 Wild Strawberries and a Carnation in a Wan-Li Bowl
c. 1620oil on copperoverall (copper panel): 28.3 × 36.2 cm (11 1/8 × 14 1/4 in.)overall (with wood strip edges): 29.6 × 37.3 cm (11 5/8 × 14 11/16 in.)The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund2013.1.1On View(Leonard Koetser, London), in 1963.[1] private collection, "the property of a lady"; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 25 November 1966, no. 44); (Leonard Koetser, London), until at least 1967. (Newhouse Galleries, New York); purchased 1974 by Robert H. Smith [1928-2009], Bethesda, Maryland; sold 1978 to (Essoldo Fine Arts Ltd., London).[2] (Galerie Julie Kraus, Paris). private collection, Germany, in 1983. (Charles Roelofsz, Amsterdam), in 1994.[3] (Bob P. Haboldt & Co., New York), in 1995. private collection; (sale, Sotheby's, London, 14 December 2000, no. 15); private collection, Germany; (sale, Sotheby's, London, 8 July 2009, no. 12); private collection, "property from a deceased's estate"; (sale, Sotheby's, London, 5 December 2012, no. 32); purchased by NGA with donated funds.
[1] Koetser exhibited the painting in his 1963 autumn exhibition; see T.H. Crombie, "Autumn Offerings: Mr. Leonard Koetser," Apollo 78, no. 20 (October 1963): 305, fig. 6.
[2] In the published record of the painting, Mr. Smith's name is placed at various points in the ownership sequence: between the 1983 German private collection and Haboldt & Co. in the three Sotheby's sale catalogues, but before the 1966 Christie's sale in the catalogue of a 1995 exhibition at Haboldt & Co. in New York. The actual dates have been confirmed by Smith collection records that document the purchase from Newhouse Galleries and the sale to Essoldo Fine Arts (copies in NGA curatorial files). It is not yet certain whether Mr. Smith's ownership came before or after the ownership by Galerie Julie Kraus.
[3] Roelofsz exhibited the painting at TEFAF (The European Fine Art Fair) in Maastricht, The Netherlands, in 1994. https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.161665.html
1974.109.1 Still Life with Nautilus Cup
1665/1670oil on canvasoverall: 68.2 x 58 cm (26 7/8 x 22 13/16 in.)framed: 90.8 x 80 x 9.5 cm (35 3/4 x 31 1/2 x 3 3/4 in.)Gift of Robert H. and Clarice Smith1974.109.1Not on ViewPossibly G.L.M. van Es, Wassenaar.[1] Probably Colonel Towers.[2] (Leonard Koetser, London); sold 1946 to (Edward Speelman, London);[3] sold 1950 or 1958 to (Kunsthandel P. de Boer, Amsterdam);[4] sold 1958 to Mr. W. Reineke, Amersfoort; re-purchased 1968 by (Kunsthandel P. de Boer, Amsterdam), with a half-share sold to (Newhouse, London);[5] sold 21 January 1969 by (Newhouse, London) to Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Smith, Washington, D.C.;[6] gift 1974 to NGA.
[1] Noted in Lucius Grisebach, Willem Kalf, 1619-1693, Berlin, 1974: 279.
[2] The name of Col. Towers is given in the 1950 De Boer exhibition catalogue.
[3] See the letter dated 31 March 1989 from Edward Speelman to Anke van Wagenberg-ter Hoeven, in NGA curatorial files.
[4] The letter dated 31 March 1989 from Edward Speelman to Anke van Wagenberg-ter Hoeven gives the date of his sale to P. de Boer as 1950. However, a letter of 17 April 1989 from H. de Boer to Anke van Wagenberg-ter Hoeven says the firm purchased the painting from Speelman in 1958. Both letters are in NGA curatorial files.[5] The transactions from 1958 to 1969 are described in H. de Boer's letter of 17 April 1989 to Anke van Wagenberg-ter Hoeven, in NGA curatorial files.[6] The sale date to the Smiths is given in their collection records; copy in NGA curatorial files. https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.54976.html
1983.19.4 Concert of Birds
1660/1670oil on copperoverall: 13 x 18 cm (5 1/8 x 7 1/16 in.)Gift of John Dimick1983.19.4On View(John Mitchell, London and New York), by 1956. (Leonard Koetser Ltd., London); sold June 1960 to Mrs. John Dimick, Chevy Chase, Maryland;[1] John Dimick, Chevy Chase; gift 1983 to NGA.
[1] An undated photograph in the Witt Library (fiche 12,090) identifies the painting as with John Mitchell Galleries. Peter Mitchell, of John Mitchell and Son, in response to a letter from Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr., sent from their records a photograph of the painting dated May 1956 (see letter of 6 January 1983, in NGA curatorial files). A Leonard Koetser Ltd. label taken from the back of the painting references the Antique Dealers' Fair in June 1960, and the Koetser invoice for the sale to Mrs. Dimick is dated 20 June 1960 (label and copy of invoice in NGA curatorial files). https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.62296.html
1983.19.3 Study of Butterfly and Insects
c. 1655oil on copperoverall: 11 x 14.8 cm (4 5/16 x 5 13/16 in.)Gift of John Dimick1983.19.3On ViewComte de Joigny, France. (Brian Koetser Gallery, London), in 1966.[1] John Dimick, Chevy Chase, Maryland; gift 1983 to NGA.
[1] According to the catalogue of the 1966 exhibition at the Brian Koetser Gallery, the painting came from the collection of the "Count of Joigny, France." A label taken from the back of the painting (in NGA curatorial files) is from the autumn exhibition presented by Leonard Koetser Ltd., but no year is indicated. Both Koetser galleries held annual autumn exhibitions that frequently featured Dutch and Flemish paintings. https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.62295.html
1961.9.92 Three Figures Dressed for a Masquerade
c. 1740soil on canvasoverall: 166.4 x 127 cm (65 1/2 x 50 in.)framed: 188.6 x 147.3 x 11.4 cm (74 1/4 x 58 x 4 1/2 in.)Samuel H. Kress Collection1961.9.92On ViewCamille Groult [1837-1908], Paris;[1] probably his son and heir, Jean Groult [1868-1951]; (his estate sale, Galerie Charpentier, Paris, 21 March 1952, no. 84, as by Longhi); purchased by (anonymous dealer, France); sold to (David M. Koetser Gallery, New York and London); sold February 1953 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[2] gift 1961 to NGA.[1] A note in the 1952 sale catalogue entry indicates the painting was frequently attributed to Lampi when it was in this collection.[2] The painting was listed as "Jacopo Amigoni? - Interior with elegant company" on the Koetser Gallery invoice to the Kress Foundation, dated 20 February 1953 (copy in NGA curatorial files). https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.46191.html
1946.7.11 Landscape with Peasants
c. 1640oil on canvasoverall: 46.5 x 57 cm (18 5/16 x 22 7/16 in.)framed: 71.1 x 81.9 x 10.2 cm (28 x 32 1/4 x 4 in.)Samuel H. Kress Collection1946.7.11Not on View...; by inheritance to his son, Sir Algernon William Neeld, 2nd bt. [1846-1900], Grittleton House; by inheritance to his brother, Sir Audley Dallas Neeld, 3rd bt. [1849-1941], Grittleton House; by inheritance to Joseph Neeld's descendant through an illegitimate daughter, Lionel William [Inigo-Jones] Neeld [d. 1956], Grittleton House; (his sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 9 June 1944, no. 18); purchased by Koetser or Rocker.[1] (Wildenstein & Co., Paris, New York, and London); sold December 1944 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[2] gift 1946 to NGA.
[1] According to an undated letter from early 1986, an annotated copy of the 1944 Neeld sale catalogue at the Getty Index states that "Rocker" purchased lot 18 (Julia A. Armstrong to Suzannah Fabing, in NGA curatorial files). However, two other annotated copies of the sale catalogue (photocopies from both in NGA curatorial files, one from the Knoedler Library fiche of British sales) indicate that lot 18 was purchased by "Koetser," almost certainly the dealer David M. Koetser. This theory is supported by a passage in The Paintings of The Betty and David M. Koetser Foundation (introduction by Malcolm M. Waddingham, catalogue by Christian Klemm, Zurich and Doornspijk, 1988: 10), in which Koetser's purchase of "the rare Landscape with Peasants by Louis Le Nain" is described. It is possible that "Rocker" was a pseudonym used by Koetser. It is not clear whether Koetser was buying for himself, or for or with Wildenstein. Koetser's letter of 20 January 1969 to Colin Eisler contains a list of some of the non-Italian paintings he sold to the Kress Foundation followed by the sentence "And indirectly, Louis Le Nain's 'Landscape'..." (copy in NGA curatorial files).[2] The "memorandum of agreement" between Wildenstein and the Kress Foundation for the purchase of ten paintings, including Louis Le Nain's Peasants in a Landscape, is dated 28 December 1944 (copy in NGA curatorial files). Colin Eisler, Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: European Schools Excluding Italian, Oxford, 1977: 266 n. 14, incorrectly gives the date of the Kress acquisition as 1946, misspells Hibbert's name as Hibbard, and indicates the painting sold for fifty guineas in 1789, when the Ellis Waterhouse letter to which he refers only says the painting was priced at fifty guineas. https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.32689.html
1961.9.58 Memorial to Admiral Sir Clowdisley Shovell
1725oil on canvasoverall: 222.1 x 158.8 cm (87 7/16 x 62 1/2 in.)framed: 251.3 x 188.4 x 10.8 cm (98 15/16 x 74 3/16 x 4 1/4 in.)Samuel H. Kress Collection1961.9.58On ViewCommissioned by Owen McSwiny for Charles Lennox, 2d duke of Richmond [1701-1750], Goodwood, Sussex, and Somerset House, London, by 1726; by descent to Charles Lennox, 4th duke of Richmond [1764-1819]; (his sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 26 March 1814, no. 48); bought by P. Hill.[1] Sir Richard Colthurst, Cork, Ireland. (David M. Koetser Gallery, New York, London, and Zurich);[2] purchased 1953 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York; gift 1961 to NGA.
[1] The circumstances of commission and the painting's sale are discussed in the NGA systematic catalogue entry (Diane De Grazia and Eric Garberson, Italian Paintings of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, Washington, D.C., 1996: 237-242). Martha Hepworth of the Getty Index provided an annotated copy of the 1814 Goodwood sale catalogue and has identified P. Hill "almost certainly" as the London dealer Philip Hill, about whom little is known (letter of 8 June 1990, NGA curatorial files).
[2] Fern Rusk Shapley, Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Italian Schools XVI-XVIII Century, London, 1973: 132, and Fern Rusk Shapley, Catalogue of Italian Paintings, 2 vols., Washington, D.C., 1979: 1:404. According to a typed notation in the NGA curatorial files of a letter from David Koetser of 23 October 1954, Koetser acquired the painting through an agent working for an old English family whose name he would not divulge to Koetser. https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.46157.html
1939.1.231 Susanna
c. 1575oil on canvasoverall: 150.2 x 102.6 cm (59 1/8 x 40 3/8 in.)framed: 185.7 x 137.8 x 10.8 cm (73 1/8 x 54 1/4 x 4 1/4 in.)Samuel H. Kress Collection1939.1.231On ViewGeorge Oakley Fisher, Egremont House, Middlesex, England. (David M. Koetser Gallery, London). (Count Alessandro Contini-Bonacossi, Florence); sold June 1936 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[1] gift 1939 to NGA.
[1] The bill of sale for a group of paintings, including the Tintoretto, is dated 1 June 1936 (copy in NGA curatorial files). https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.372.html
1961.9.61 The Muses Urania and Calliope
c. 1634oil on woodoverall: 79.8 x 125 cm (31 7/16 x 49 3/16 in.)framed: 105.4 x 150.2 x 10.2 cm (41 1/2 x 59 1/8 x 4 in.)Samuel H. Kress Collection1961.9.61On ViewM. de Mauméjan; (his estate sale, Lacoste and Henry, Paris, 29 June-2 July 1825, no. 47).[1] Miss E.M. Linton, Upper Basildon, Berkshire, England;[2] (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 1 July 1955, no. 154); (David M. Koetser Gallery, New York, London, and Zurich);[2] sold 1957 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York; gift 1961 to NGA.
[1] Georges Isarlo, Caravage et le caravagisme éuropéen, Aix-en-Provence, 1941: 263.
[2] Miss Linton's name was kindly supplied by Marijke Booth of Christie's Archive Department, London (e-mail to Anne Halpern, 5 December 2007, NGA curatorial files), as was the buyer's name from the auctioneer's book: H. Levat (or Cevat). "Levat" was perhaps buying for, or a pseudonym for, David Koester, who wrote to Colin Eisler (letter of 20 January 1969, NGA curatorial files) that although he had "not kept a record of [the painting's] exact source," he did recall that "he purchased the painting at Christie's, presumably in 1955 or 1956." https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.46160.html
(please let us know in a comment if you see any errors)
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3. Boston Museum of Fine Arts : "Koetser" in the Provenance
-->Koetser in NGA UK List of works with incomplete provenance from 1933–1945 |
4. NGA London: Koetser in Whereabouts of paintings 1933: List of works with incomplete provenance from 1933–1945
LUDOVICO CARRACCI 'The Marriage of the Virgin' Accepted by H.M. Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the National Gallery, 2003 NG6595 Provenance Leonard Koetser (D), London* Sale at Christie’s London, 1st of July 1955, lot 133 (as Van Haarlem) Bought by Philip Pouncey and attributed by him to Ludovico Carracci, until 1966 On loan to the National Gallery since 1988 Accepted by H.M. Government in Lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the National Gallery, 2003Questions 1933-1945
Whereabouts between 1933 and 1945
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COORTE, ADRIAEN ‘Still Life with a Bowl of Strawberries, a Spray of Gooseberries, Asparagus and a Plum’ Gift from the collection of Willem Baron van Dedem, 2017 NG6664 Provenance Possibly sale of the Samuel Archbutt collection, (Christie’s, London), 18 May 1833 (Lugt 13314), lot 25: ̒A. Coorte, 1703: Fruit and vegetables’. {1} Private collection, France; {2} sold (Sotheby’s, Monaco), 22 June 1985, lot 46; (David Koetser Gallery, Zurich), 1985. Linda and Gerald Guterman, New York; by whom sold (Sotheby’s, New York), 14 January 1988, lot 7 (bought in). Sale (Sotheby’s, New York), 16 May 1996, lot 120, bought in. Private collection, New York, until 2006. (Haboldt & Co., Paris), 2006-2007. Willem Baron van Dedem [1929-2015]; gift from the collection of Willem Baron van Dedem to the National Gallery, 2017.
Questions 1933-45 {1} Provenance between Archbutt sale and private collection. {2} Date and source of acquisition by private collection. Notes Quentin Buvelot, 'The still lifes of Adriaen Coorte (active c. 1683-1707)', exh. Mauritshuis, The Hague; Zwolle 2008, p. 110, no. 50.
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LASTMAN 'Juno discovering Jupiter with Io' Presented to the NG by Julius Weitzner in 1957 NG6272 Provenance Max Koetser (D), London;* Christie's, London, 3 May 1957;* Doward; Julius Weitzner, NY;
Questions 1933-1945 Date and details of acquisition by Koetser Confirm details of vendor 1957
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POLIDORO DA CARAVAGGIO 'The Way to Calvary' Bought with a grant from The Art Fund (with a contribution from the Wolfson Foundation) and donations from the George Beaumont Group, 2003 NG6594 Provenance Acquired from Max Koetser (D), London, in the mid-1930s by Alfred Scharf (1900-1965), as Scharf informed Pouncey Anonymous sale, Christie’s, London, 19 June 1959, lot 71 Philip Pouncey (1910-1990) Thence by descent The purchase of this painting was made possible by the National Art Collections Fund and the George Beaumont Group
Questions 1933-1945 Date and details of acquisition by Max Koetser?
Details of vendor 1959
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5. Koetser in the RKD
The (fabulous) RKD site shows 804 results for a query on Koetser, of which 780 are paintings.
https://rkd.nl/nl/explore/images#query=Koetser&v=list There are simply too many to display here, though the provenances will hopefully be published in a dataset that can be downloaded and analysed for patterns, networks, etc. Some of this work is performed automatically by RKD. Thus one can see on the website the breakdown of entities such as painters, places, owners (for a search on Koetser):
(some screenshots of the RKD breakdown for Koetser)
RKD lists the artists, the places where the work was created and collected and, in the last image, the names of the owners: 284 David Koetser, 192 Private Collection, 134 Leonard Koetser, 121 Brian Koetser, 43 Asscher Koetser & Welker, 41, EDavid M. Koetser, 41 Kunsthandel P. de Boer, etc.
Next Steps...
The above examples represent only a few of the artworks that passed through Koetser's hands all around the world. Many more are to be found in other institutions - the Kunsthaus Zürich, the J. P. Getty, etc...
It is a long and tedious work to find every mention, especially since Koetser used so many names and aliases in transactions (see The Many Names of Koetser). However, this preparatory groundwork should be useful for art historians who wish to get a complete picture.
After gathering the information about the various artworks that passed through Koetser, the next step would be to put the data in a format that's easy to analyse - like a single CSV file. And then see what pops out...
Has anyone already done this?
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