Showing posts with label spoliation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spoliation. Show all posts

Jan 3, 2020

Fruits of a Secret Love, Albert Meyer and France's MNR

Les Fruits de l'amour secret


France's Rose-Valland MNR site publishes detailed information about the history of paintings looted by Nazis and returned to France after WWII. 



For the above "Les Fruits de l'amour secret" we learn not only its former title but also something about its history. (see "Historique" in French*).

In 1932 the artwork belonged to "Albert Meyer", however during the Hitler years it changed hands several times. The names associated with the art market transactions during the Nazi years are, according to the MNR, the following:

  • galerie Charpentier (1938)
  • auctionneer Etienne Ader
  • experts Jules Féral et Catrou and Francis Max-Kann
  • Sperling of New York
  • Gilbert Lévy
  • Galerie für Alte Kunst in Munich
  • Linz
  • M. J. Oppenheim of Paris
After the defeat of Nazi Germany, the artwork is associated with:
  • Alt Aussee (1945)
  • Munich Central Collecting Point (1945)
  • Commission de récupération artistique in Paris (1949)
  • Louvre (1952)


What does the Louvre say about this artwork?


The Louvre does mention that it comes from the "Commission de récuperation" but gives no explanation.


---

The Nazi-era names mentioned in the provenance on France's MNR site are well-known. In 1946, the Art Looting Investigation Unit flagged Charpentier as a Red Flag Name, writing:

Charpentier, Jean. Paris, 76 rue du Fbg St Honore. Sold to Germans through Josef Muehlmann. An exhibition held in March 1941 at his gallery was sold out to Goering. Angerer exhibited tapestries there at the same time which were also sold.

The auctioneer was also documented by the Art Looting Unit:

Ader, Etienne. Paris, 16 rue Favert. Dealer who worked for the Germans during the occupation. Sold to Haberstock. Documentary evidence in Unit files.

and the expert:

Feral, J. Paris, place Vendome. Had a close business connection with the French art dealer Pierre Dandry, who worked with Bornheim and Lohse.

As for Sperling of New York, he was praised by the museum director Thomas Hoving as one of his "favorite dealer-smugglers" (Besides Harry Sperling another of my favorite dealer-smugglers was John J. Klejman.) 
Sperling was in additon the president of Kleinberger, whose Paris branch was run by his cousin Allen Loebl, who was also flagged by the Art Looting Investigation Unit in 1946:

Loebl, Ali (Allen). Paris, rue des Pyramides/9 rue de l’Echelle/34 quai de Passy. Dealer, of Austro-Hungarian Jewish descent. Director and leading spirit of the firm Kleinberger & Co, ‘aryanised ‘ under the name of E Garin during the war. Centre of the informal art dealing syndicate comprising Wendland, Perdoux, Mandl, Boitel, Dequoy, Engel. Sold chiefly to Lohse, Hofer and Haberstock, for whom he travelled as agent in unoccupied France. Contact of Mohnen, Landry, Mestrallet. Indicted by the French Government (Seine Tribunal, Judge Frapier).


Such a provenance for the years 1933-1945 raises a lot of questions.


Where exactly was "Les Fruits de l'amour secret" between 1932 and 1938? 

And who, one wonders, was Albert Meyer? 

___

Meyer is a very common name. A quick digital search turns up a couple of candidates who were alive in 1932 and who collected art, as well as additional provenances that mention an "Albert Meyer" for those years. We can't know from a simple digital search whether it is the same Albert Meyer, but we can look at the mentions to see if anything pops.

Here, for example, is a mention of "Albert Meyer" in the National Gallery of Art in Washington:
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.74175.html


Phillipe Weiner, Paris; Albert Meyer (sold Seligmann Gallery exhibition, Paris May 24-June 8, 1935, no. 100); Mrs. Jesse I. Straus (née Irma S. Nathan, 1876-1970), New York, (her sale, New York, Parke-Bernet Galleries, 21 October 1970, no. 21); to Armand Hammer Collection, 1970; gift to NGA, 1991.

There is another mention of Meyer together with Seligmann in the Louvre for "Copie d'après VINCI Leonardo da
Ecole florentine,Vieille femme en buste, de profil à gauche":


http://arts-graphiques.louvre.fr/detail/oeuvres/0/228003-Vieille-femme-en-buste-de-profil-a-gauche-max


 acquis par la Société des Amis du Louvre avec le concours de MM. Albert Meyer et Jean Seligmann; don au Louvre, Comité du 26 février 1937 ; marque du Louvre sur chaque folio (L. 1886a).
Dernière provenance : Mayer, Albert
Mode d'acquisition : achat

Année d'acquisition : 1937


and for "Tête d'homme grimaçant, une calotte sur la tête":





If we look for Albert Meyer together with Seligmann, we find a book by Germain Seligman, "Merchants of art: 1800-1960: eighty years of professional collecting", that sheds some light: 

Fortunately, the Paris firm was well-staffed with a number of men 
who had been with my father for many years and who could be relied  upon during my absences. Albert L. Meyer was particularly valuable  for his sound knowledge of the 18th century and his exquisite taste.  His name still gives eclat today to the drawings which he gathered for his personal collection.

This particular Albert Meyers was an art dealer, and an employee of Seligmann.  He accompanied Germain Seligmann on all kinds of racombolesque and amusing art business, but it all came to an abrupt end with the Nazi occupation of France (page 233):

France, of course, had been at war since September, and my young 
brother, Francois-Gerard, was called up immediately. He made the 
weary trek to Dunkirk and then joined the Resistance, where he made a brilliant record in extremely dangerous work. By some miracle, my sisters and their families escaped the awful fates of so many Jews, though they lived through terrible years of wandering and hiding. 
My brother Andre managed to get to this country with his family in 
1940 and opened a gallery in New York. He was among the first to 
rush back to France in 1945 but died of a heart attack soon after his 
homecoming. My cousin Rene, ill in a New York hospital, completely lost his will to live when France fell in June, 1940, and died within a week of that most awful of days. Jean Seligmann, son of my Uncle Arnold, was captured and shot at Vincennes. Albert Meyer, my father's and my longtime associate in the Paris firm, died in a concentration camp under atrocious conditions. 

Almost the entire stock of the Paris firm was confiscated as Jewish 
property and sold at public auction by order of the Vichy government. 
The family house on the rue de Constantine and its entire contents 
suffered the same fate, as did my private collection, much of which 
was still in my Paris apartment. At this time, the Paris records were 

burned to keep them from falling into Nazi hands. 


Albert Meyer died in a concentration camp as a Jew.

If one searches for "Albert Meyer" on The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names at Yad Vashem, one finds:



For Paris there is one Albert Meyer: Birth Year: 1874. Fate: Murdered.



The information comes from a list of deporations from France, found in Le Mémorial de la déportation des juifs de France, Béate et Serge Klarsfeld, Paris, 1978




The information on Albert Meyer of Paris published by Yad Vashem:


Last NameMeyer
First NameAlbert
Date of Birth06/06/1874
Place of BirthParis,Seine,France
Place during the WarFrance
Origin of DeportationDrancy,Camp,France
Destination of DeportationAuschwitz,Camp,Poland
Details of TransportTransport 67 from Drancy,Camp,France to Auschwitz Birkenau,Extermination Camp,Poland on 03/02/1944  
Status according to Sourcedeported to an extermination camp
SourceLe Mémorial de la déportation des juifs de France, Béate et Serge Klarsfeld, Paris 1978
Type of materialList of deportation from France
Item ID3203168
* Automatic translation from Hebrew



-----
https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/mnr/REC00145

Titre: Les Fruits de l'amour secret
Ancien titre: L'Evanouissement
Auteur / exécutant / collecteur: BAUDOIN Pierre-Antoine

Référence: REC00145
Nom de la base: Récupération artistique (MNR Rose-Valland)
Date de la dernière mise à jour: 2019-08-16
Siècle:18e siècle
Technique:Papier ; pierre noire, lavis d'encre de Chine et touches de bistre
Dimensions:H. 0,295 ; La. 0,350 m.
Genèse: Variante de ce même sujet, le dessin INV 23699, voir : GUIFFREY, Jean et MARCEL, Pierre, "Inventaire Général des Dessins de l'école française", tome I, Adam à Bouchardon", Paris, Musées Nationaux, 1933, p. 44, repr. n° 197 p. 45.



Historique: Le dessin appartient en 1932 à Albert Meyer, ainsi que le mentionne le catalogue de l'exposition à la "Royal Academy of Arts" de Londres en janvier-mars 1932 (2). Enfin, l'oeuvre est présentée à la vente à la galerie Charpentier le 15 juin 1938, comme "provenant de la collection A. M., vente à Paris en vue de cessation d'indivision ... commissaire-priseur Me Etienne Ader, experts MM. Jules Féral et Catroux et M. Francis Max-Kann ..." sous le numéro de lot 1. Le dessin est acquis pour "M. Sperling de New-York par M. Gilbert Lévy agissant pour le compte de l'indivision", pour 38000 francs (3). Le dessin est acquis, le 25 août 1943, à la "Galerie für Alte Kunst" à Munich, pour le musée de Linz pour la somme de 25000 RM et provient de M. J. Oppenheim à Paris (4). Il est inventorié au musée de Linz sous le numéro 2968 et lors de la débâcle allemande le 4 juillet 1945, est transféré par précaution à Alt Aussee, puis acheminé au Central Collecting Point de Munich. Il est envoyé à Paris et arrive au siège de la Commission de récupération artistique le 10 juin 1949 (5) Le dessin est remis au musée du Louvre (Cabinet des dessins) par la Commission de récupération artistique en mars 1952 (6).


____

Web Sites Cited:

Yad Vashem website: The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names

France website Rose-Vallande MNR


LootedArt:Com website Post-War Reports: Art Looting Intelligence Unit (ALIU) Reports 1945-1946 and ALIU Red Flag Names List and Index


Artnet website: ARTFUL TOM, A MEMOIR by Thomas Hoving, Chapter 24 Getting Restless

Internet Archive: Full text of "Merchants of art: 1800-1960: eighty years of professional collecting" by Germain Seligman

USA: website National Gallery of Art


France website Le Louvre Les collections du département des
arts graphiques

See also http://ag.louvre.fr/detail/expositions/0/imprimer/12324-Presentation-des-oeuvres-recuperees-apres-le-Secone-Guerre-mondiale-et-confiees-a-la-garde-des-musees-nationaux

and (for MNR artworks with detailed information including provenance: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vR60RLJ-7XGuIBzfsjGFM6D2F9478ggDLTFKPWFjoCXZ7RCZu8sejPKnURnpefi_AiIk2CpldPsI3BB/pub?gid=1916467116&single=true&output=csv
____

Permalink : https://www.openartdata.org/2020/01/art-spoliation-france-mnr-valland-provenance.html



Oct 19, 2019

Art Museums in France

How open are French art museums concerning the acquisition history and provenance of the artworks in their collections? 
Art museums in France

On Sunday, October 20, 2019 in Paris, as part of the lecture series on the French Art Market Under the Occupation, an international panel of experts will speak on Art Restitutions in France as seen from Abroad. Reservations online.



Speakers include Wesley Fisher, Agnes Peresztegi, Emmanuelle Polack, Anne Webber, and David Zivie with moderator Philippe Dagen

Apr 27, 2019

Art Market Networks of Adolf Wuester during the Nazi occupation of Paris

The ALIU mentioned these people, places and organisations in its entry for Adolf Wuester in the 1946 Final Report
There are several ways to view Adolf Wuester's art market networks as described in the Art Looting Investigation Unit Red Flag List of Names.

1. All the contacts mentioned in the ALIU entry for Wuester, as in the above chart.

or

2. All the Red Flag entries that mention Wuester in the ALIU list (below)







3. Connections to an organisation (below, all the ALIU Red Flag entries that mention the ERR)








4. Or to a place... (below, 416 Red Flag entries mention Paris )








5. Or to other art dealer or art market networks (Wuester, Lohse, ERR, Rochlitz..) 





ALIU Red Flag list entry for Adolf Wuester


Wuester, Adolf. Bernau, Bavaria Bonn Schloesel. Painter and amateur dealer, long-time pre-war resident of Paris. Chief agent in France for acquisition of works of art for Ribbentrop. Intimate contactws with von Behr and Lohse. Acted as expert for ERR on French 19th century painting. Appointed art adviser to the German Embassy on 16 July 1942, with the rank of Consul. Involved in two exchanges with the ERR. With Rochlitz, probably the leading intermediary for German official buyers in the Paris art market. Close contact of Bornheim, Dietrich, Bammann (among German dealers); Martin, Rademacher, Kuetgens and Goepel (among German museum buyers). Supplied with works of art primarily by Schoeller, Mandl, Leegenhoek, Raphael Gerard and Hotel Drouot. Close contact of Goetz, Rochlitz, Schoeller, Pfannstiel, Avogli-Trotti and the Duc de Trevise. Travelled in Switzerland, Sweden and Spain, purchasing works of art. Extradition requested by French Government.



ALIU Red Flag Names whose entries mention Wuester



Name1Name2LocationRole1Role2Role3Role4Role5
Wuester, AdolfAbels Brothers, HermannCologne, Komoedienstrasse 26DealersSpecialists in 16th to 19th century painting and graphic artsActive in ParisIn touch with Wuester, who was advised on purchases for Ribbentrop
Wuester, AdolfBammann, HansDusseldorf, Blumenstrasse 11Dealer, drafted into the army in 1942 and transferred to the ERR in Paris in December 1943 at the request of Lohse and WuesterBelieved to have acted as agent for art purchases in France for museums of Dusseldorf, Cologne, Aachen and BonnContact of Rochlitz and ManteauIntroduced Lohse to important German museum directors and dealers
Wuester, AdolfBreker, Prof ArnoStarnberg (Buchhof uber Pocha), BavariaCelebrated Nazi sculptor, often in Paris during the warTook part in arranging tour of French artists through GermanyActive as buyerAdvised Goering through BunjesIn touch with Wuester, Adrion, Fabre, Jansen and other French dealers
Wuester, AdolfGoepel, Dr ErhardLeipzig, Stieghtstrasse 76Official Linz agent and buyer in Holland under Posse and VossBought extensively in Holland and also travelled frequently in Belgium and FranceNegotiated the forced sale of the Schloss Collection in ParisChief contacts: Vitale Bloch (Holland), Wuester, Wandl and Holzapfel (Paris)
Wuester, AdolfKnothe, DrSecretary of the German Embassy, Paris and reported to have worked with Wuester on art matters for von Ribbentrop and possibly Goebbels
Wuester, AdolfKuetgens, Dr FelixAachen, Heinrichsallee 18Member of Kunstschutz, ParisMentioned as also in charge of Kunstschutz in Serbia and GreeceAssisted by Wuester in art purchases in Paris
Wuester, AdolfLoewenisch, AlbertCologne Paris, 8 ave Victor MasselPurchasing agent for the Gauleitung Dusseldorf-Koln-Aachen-Bonn, and one of the official representatives of German museums in FranceContact of Hermssen, Wuester, Weinmueller and LangePartner of Toulinot and agent for Bornheim
Wuester, AdolfMay, Frau WismerZurich, Seefeldstrasse 90Colleague of Wuester in the art section of the German Embassy, ParisArdent Nazi and well connected in high Party circlesConsidered harmless by a British art looting investigation officer
Wuester, Adolf
Mohnen, Wilhelm Jacob
German nationalCaptured in Rome, 5 February 1945, after taking refuge in the VaticanMinor Embassy official and espionage agentAttached informally 1941-43 to the staff of Wuester in ParisSome activity as intermediary in German art purchases and looting
Wuester, AdolfMuthmann, DrDirector of Museum of KrefeldIn contact with Wuester, Paul Cailleux, Dr Kurt Martin and Dr Hopp
Wuester, AdolfPfannstiel, ArthurParisGerman painter and dealer, resident in Paris before the warMember of staff of ERR, Bordeaux and of GISFriend of von Behr, for whom he is said to have acted as an informerIn touch with WuesterBelieved under indictment for espionage
Wuester, AdolfRademacher, Dr BernardBonnAssistant at the Landesmuseum, BonnAgent for art purchases in FranceDealt with Leegenhoek, Postma and RochlitzIn touch with Wuester and Plietzsch
Wuester, Adolf
von Waldthausen
In charge of interior decoration of the German Embassy, Paris, 1940Assisted by Wuester, 1942
Wuester, AdolfWuester, AdolfBernau, Bavaria Bonn SchloeselPainter and amateur dealer, long-time pre-war resident of ParisChief agent in France for acquisition of works of art for RibbentropIntimate contactws with von Behr and LohseActed as expert for ERR on French 19th century paintingAppointed art adviser to the German Embassy on 16 July 1942, with the rank of Consul
Wuester, AdolfBlotParisDealer, dealt with Wuester
Wuester, AdolfCailleux, PaulParis, 136 rue du Fbg St HonoreDealer in contact with Rochlitz, Wuester, Frau Dietrich, HaberstockKnew Lohse, who claims to have freed his wife from a concentration campAuthority on 18th century French artPresident of the Art Dealers Association, Paris
Wuester, AdolfCloots, F GParis, 14 rue de l’AbbayeSmall dealer specialising in 17th century Dutch paintingIn contact with Wuester and HoferHusband of Alice Manteau
Wuester, AdolfGairac, GeorgesParis, 17 rue de SeineFrench art dealer who sold to Wuester and Bornheim
Wuester, AdolfGerard, Raphael Louis FelixParis, 4 ave de MessineDealt in confiscated pictures; main source of supply to Wuester and other German buyersIndicted by French Government (Seine Tribunal, Judge Frapier)
Wuester, Adolfde Haucke, Cesar MongeParis, 14 rue du Cherche-MidiDealer active in Paris and New York before the warActive in Paris during the occupation; in contact with Wuester, Haberstock and Hofer; documentary evidence in Unit files
Wuester, AdolfKalebjian, IreneParis, 52 bis ave d’IenaSchenker documents indicate sales to German buyersOne of Wuester’s chief sources
Wuester, AdolfLeegenhoek, M OParis, 1 rue de Rennes/230 blvd RaspailBelgian nationalProminent restorer and subsequent dealer who sold extensively to Hofer, Lohse, Wendland, Wuester, Dietrich, Haberstock, Miedl, Goepel and the great majority of important German purchasersFormerly associated with Lagrand, and connected with van der Veken and Renders in BelgiumBelieved still to be in ParisPossibly active in Wendland’s behalf
Wuester, AdolfMandl, VictorParis, 9 rue du BoetieGerman refugee dealer, formerly active in BerlinHighly important figure in German art purchases in ParisClose contact of Wendland, Dietrich, Voss, Goepel, Muehlmann, Lohse, Loebl, Perdoux, Birtschansky and WuesterIndicted by French Government for collaborationist activity
Wuester, AdolfMontag, CharlesSevres Meudon Val Fleury, 72 rue de ParisSwiss; naturalised FrenchArtist and dealerStrongly implicated in German activity in ParisAssociate of DequoyClose contact of Wuester and Wendland
Wuester, AdolfRenand, GeorgesParis, 30 quai de BethuneSold to Ribbentrop through WuesterSchenker documents indicate sales to German buyers
Wuester, AdolfSchmit, JeanParis, 22 rue de CharonneImportant antique dealer and decorating concernDealt with Bornheim, Angerer, Haberstock and other Germans brought to him by WuesterSchenker documents indicate sales to German buyers
Wuester, AdolfSchoeller, AndreParis, 13 rue de TeheranWell known expert in French 19th century paintingPresident of the Art Editors Syndicate and appraiser for the Hotel DrouotAppraised paintings confiscated by the ERRSold extensively to Wuester, Brueschwiller and LohsePossibly involved in the Schloss Collection confiscation, as informer
Wuester, AdolfToulinot (Toulino)Paris, 8 ave Victor MasselSmall dealerPartner of LoewenischOccasionally agent for BornheimIn contact with Wuester and Hofer
Wuester, Adolfde Trevise, DucParisPre-war sponsor and friend of Rochlitz and Wuester
Wuester, AdolfTrotti, Count Rene AvogliParis, 1/88 rue de GrenelleWell known art dealer of Italian birth; in touch with many German art agents during the war, particularly Wuester, an old friendAlso did business with HaberstockIndicted by French Government (Seine Tribunal, Judge Frapier)
Wuester, AdolfWuester AdolfSee Germany
Wuester, AdolfRaeber, Dr WilliBasle, St Albans Anlage 68Prominent art dealerVice president of the Swiss syndicate of art dealers and its most active memberInvolved in various looted art transactionsPossessed certain paintings on the Allied ListContact of Hofer and Wuester
Wuester, AdolfWendland, Dr HansVersoix/GenevaGerman nationalArt dealer, resident alternately in France, Switzerland, Italy and Germany since World War IPartner of Reber until about 1930Probably the most important individual engaged in quasi-official looted art transactions in France, Germany and Switzerland in World War IIActed as intermediary between Hofer and Fischer, and as Fischer’s chief purchasing agent