Mar 28, 2021

"The painting was bought at the auction in 1940 by a Dutch man, S.B.S. Slijper"

see: Heirs Sue for Return of a Kandinsky, Saying It Was Looted by Nazis, NYT,  https://www.lootedart.com/news.php?r=SBYXH2908751

Who was S.B.S. Slijper?

Other than the Kandinsky, looted by the Nazis from Robert Gotschalk Lewenstein and his sister Wilhelmine Helena Lewenstein, which Slijper acquired in 1940, where else does his name appear?


This is an obvious question for provenance researchers who want to locate Nazi-looted art. 


The appearance of the name Slijper does not automatically mean anything. However it is prudent to verify to see if he handled any other Nazi looted art.  

What does a simple Google search produce?

1. Kimble Art Museum


Composition, 1914

Piet Mondrian

Provenance
S. B. Slijper, Blaricum, The Netherlands. C. G. Hannaert, Laren, The Netherlands, 1915 for fl. 200. Kunsthandel G. J. Nieuwenhuizen Segaar, The Hague, c. 1951-1958; Galerie Beyeler, Basel, 1958; (Sidney Janis Gallery, New York); Sir Edward G.and Lady Hulton [he: 1906-1988], London, 1958-1981; (Marlborough Fine Art, Ltd., London) by 1981; (Acquavella Galleries, Inc., New York); acquired by Kimbell Art Foundation, Fort Worth, 1983; gift of the Burnett Foundation of Fort Worth in memory of Anne Burnett Tandy, 1983.

https://www.kimbellart.org/collection/apg-198303

***


2. RKD: "Piet Mondrian and Sal Slijper: friends for life?"






3. Sothebys: Henry Van de Velde 1863-1957 PORTRET VAN S.B. SLIJPER


PORTRET VAN S.B. SLIJPER
Estimate  1,500 — 2,000  EUR
 LOT SOLD. 4,147 EUR 
PROVENANCE
S.B. Slijper, no. 312

***

4. RKD Provenances that mention the Dallas Museum of Art

https://www.openartdata.org/2020/01/rkd-provenance-dallas-dma.html


5. Christies: Piet Mondrian (1872-1944)

Wilgenbos, Stammen Leunen naar Links II


PROPERTY FROM THE ISRAEL MUSEUM, JERUSALEM, SOLD TO BENEFIT THE ACQUISITIONS FUND: SELECTIONS FROM THE CARL H. AND RUTH L. GANS COLLECTION
Piet Mondrian (1872-1944)
Wilgenbos, Stammen Leunen naar Links II

Price realised
USD 93,750
Estimate
USD 60,000 - USD 80,000

Closed: 
12 Nov 2018

Provenance

S.B. Slijper, Blaricum (acquired from the artist, 1919 and possibly until 1951).
Anon. sale, S.J. Mak van Waay, Amsterdam, 3 April 1951, possibly lot 237.
Elli Landsberger-Stiasny, The Hague (by 1960).
Carl H. and Ruth L. Gans, New York (by descent from the above, 1980).
Gift from the above to the present owner, 1984.

***

German Bank Faces Suit by Reputed Kandinsky Heirs




Before Hedwig Lewenstein-Weyermann died in 1937, according to the complaint, her last will and testament left “Das Bunte Leben” and the rest of her substantial collection to her two surviving children, Robert Gotschalk Lewenstein and Wilhelmine Helena Lewenstein.

The heirs say that Hedwig Lewenstein-Weyermann had loaned the Kandinsky to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam a few years before her death in 1933.

In 1940, following the Nazi invasion and occupation of the Netherlands, “Das Bunte Leben” was among those looted from the Stedelijk and then hastily auctioned off by Frederik Muller & Co.

The heirs say it fetched a mere 250 Dutch guilders, roughly 10 to 20 percent of its then market value.

Nazi art-looting agency the Dienststelle Mühlmann was established in the Netherlands at the time, according to the complaint, to find art it could sell to Hermann Göring and Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Lewenstein says Frederik Muller & Co. was known to have collaborated with the Nazis and organized auctions of art and possessions looted from Jews, similar to the “Judenauktionen” in Germany and Austria.

Lewenstein, who lives in Ohio, brought the complaint with fellow heir Francesca Davis, of Texas, and Dutch co-plaintiff Elsa Hannchen Guidotti.

The lawsuit says Guidotti is the only heir of Irma Klein, Robert Gotschalk Lewenstein’s first wife prior to the despoilment, whose financial interest in the “Das Bunte Leben” was derived through then existing community property laws.

While both Robert and Wilhelmine Lewenstein fled the Netherlands and never returned, Nazis seized the family’s sewing-machine company and murdered the family members who stayed in the country.

The complaint says Bayerische Landesbank claims to have bought the painting in 1972 from Johanna Slijper for 900,000 Dutch guilders.

Bayerische Landesbank officially presented the painting to the Lenbachhaus on Dec. 14, 1973, as a permanent loan by the bank to the museum.

Lewenstein and the other heirs sent a letter on Nov. 5, 2015, demanding the return of the painting from Bayerische Landesbank.






***
- UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ------------------------------------------------------------------------x ROBERT COLIN LEWENSTEIN, : FRANCESCA MANUELA DAVIS, AND : ELSA HANNCHEN GUIDOTTI, :
: ECF Case Plaintiffs, :
: Case No. - against - :
: COMPLAINT
: BAYERISCHE LANDESBANK, : : Defendant.



49. In addition, the Painting appears on an inventory list of the Stedelijk dated December 4, 1940, two months after the purported sale of the Painting at the Muller auction. That inventory lists the Painting as on loan to the Stedelijk by “Mrs. Lewenstein” and located in the museum’s depot. None of this information was revealed to Betty in response to her letter.
50. In addition, the records of the Stedelijk contain correspondence from May 1947 in which the museum director, Willem Sandberg (“Sandberg”), had responded to an inquiry made by Cesar Domela of Paris about certain Kandinskys, including the Painting. Sandberg stated that he had made inquiries regarding the various paintings and reported that the Painting “which was formerly owned by Lewenstein-Wegeman [sic], is now in the possession of S.B.S. Slijper, Doprstraat 14, Blaricum.” The Stedelijk did not convey this information, which it had obtained at the request of someone unrelated to the family just one year earlier, to Betty.



More Google results


https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6283445
 
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