Misspellings in ALIU Red Flag Names: Nathan, Natman, Cailler Caillier Caillek; Skira Seira

OSS Art Looting Investigation Unit Reports, 1945-46: Albert Skira FOLD3 https://www.fold3.com/image/232006349

The OSS Art Looting Investigation Unit Red Flag List of Names can be consulted on the internet in a number of different versions. There are transcriptions as well as PDFs of photographs. The National Archives, Fold3, the New York Department of Financial Services and LootedArt.com all provide online versions.

The multiplicity of sources enables us to compare versions and to detect misspellings or erroneous transcriptions.

This post looks at a couple of errors that have made their way into the public record. The examples are taken from the "Switzerland" section in the ALIU Final Report Red Flag list of names.

Pierre Cailler (1901-1971) and Albert Skira (1904-1973) were Swiss publishers specialised in art history who collaborated in the 1940s according to the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.

Pierre Cailler and Albert Skira were also involved in the Nazi-era art trade, according to the OSS Art Looting Investigation Unit, which listed both of them as "Red Flags" in its Final Report in the section concerning Switzerland.

Pierre Cailler: Art Looting Investigation Unit: Final Report Subject Files, compiled 1944 - 1946, documenting the period 1940 - 1946 NARA 1537311 https://www.fold3.com/image/273355681

The spelling of their names, however, in the transcriptions of these reports contains some errors.

"Caillier, Pierre. Geneva. Partner in the firm of Editions d’Art Albert Skira SA, Geneva and suspected of trafficking in loot."
-ALIU Red Flag List of Names (transcription published on looted art.com)


While in some instances, Skira and Cailler are spelled correctly, in others Cailler is transcribed as Caillier and Skira is transcribed as Seira.

Renou et Colle. Paris, 165 rue du Fbg St Honore. Firm of art dealers who handled looted art, notably from the Paul Rosenberg Collection. Contact of Gurlitt and Skira. Schenker documents indicate sales to German buyers. -ALIU Red Flag List of Names (transcription published on looted art.com)




Seira, Albert. Geneva, 4 place du Molart. Owner of publishing firm ‘Editions d’Art ‘; on British and American Proclaimed Lists. Partner of Pierre Cailler and son-in-law of Lionello Venturi, celebrated Italian anti-Fascist art historian, long resident of France and the United States. Imported a large number of works of art from France during the German occupation, and upon request, submitted lists to the British and French diplomatic missions in Switzerland to prove that all objects were acquired and imported legitimately. Suspected strongly of having smuggled additional objects into Switzerland through diplomatic channels (possibly South American) and illicit border activity. Purchased from Renou et Colle, Fabiani, Raphael Gerard, Carre and a group of sixteen less important Parisian dealers. Contact of von Frey. Believed to be playing a double game with earlier strong connections in the French underground. No claims pending against him on the part of the French Government, but appears to be an unsolved case of potential importance.
-ALIU Red Flag List of Names (transcription published on looted art.com)

These misspellings complicate digital research, as search engines don't know they are variants of the same name, even though a human can easily see that Cailler is the "Partner in the firm of Editions d’Art Albert Skira SA" and that Skira is the "Partner of Pierre Cailler" by a simple visual crosscheck (in bold).

And if any doubt remains, photographs of the original investigation are available, so the spelling in the transcriptions can be checked.
("It has however been reported that pictures have been smuggled in through Geneva, by M. Albert Skira (French and Swiss sources)."

NARA M1944. Records of the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas, 1943-1946. https://www.fold3.com/image/270257351

("According to Skira, subject recently sold a fake Manet...")

Pierre Cailler Card File on Art-Looting Suspects, compiled 1943 - 1946 https://www.fold3. com/image/270085049 National Archives Catalog ID:1518884

Albert Skira and Pierre Cailler are not the only names to have been mistranscribed.

One notices similar issues for the transcription of Fritz Nathan, also in the Swiss section of the ALIU Final Report. Nathan is various transcribed as Natman (looted art), Mathan (Smithsonian) and even Najean (Fold3) - errors which can complicate digital research, as a search for "Nathan" will not pick up the texts. 

"Emil Buehrle of Oerlikon, Switzerland, a German munitions magnate and owner of the Oerlikon arms factory, believed to have been a naturalized Swiss. Believed to have been an important recipient of looted works of art by purchase from Fischer and Wendland; advised principally Mathan and Montag; and, made direct purchase in Paris from Dequoy."
- National Archives, Holocaust Era Assets, Military Agency Recordshttps://www.archives.gov/research/holocaust/finding-aid/military/part-2-notes.html

Buehrle, Emil. Oerlikon (nr Zurich). German munitions magnate, resident in Switzerland for twenty years. Believed naturalised Swiss. Owner of the Oerlikon arms factory. Important recipient of looted works of art by purchase from Fischer and Wendland. Advised principally by Natman and Montag. Direct purchases in Paris from Dequoy.


Nathan, Dr Fritz. St Gallen, Rorschacherstrasse 25. German refugee art dealer in Switzerland since 1935. Adviser to Buehrle, and intermediary between Fischer, Hofer and Buehrle. Has denied knowledge that paintings and drawings acquired by Buehrle from Fischer were looted; all evidence to the contrary.


Fortunately, there, too, photos of the original documents exist which can quickly establish the correct spelling.
Researchers of art market networks who rely exclusively on digital searches, however, may miss out on useful information.

sources:

FOLD3
https://www.fold3.com/image/270257351
NARA M1944. Records of the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas, 1943-1946.
English, French, German M1944 239 2007 0092 1537311
Subject Files, compiled 1944 - 1946, documenting the period 1940 - 1946 Subject File Swiss Reports 1940 - 1946
The National Archives (http://www.archives.gov)

Card File on Art-Looting Suspects, E-F › Page 139 - Fold3.com

https://www.fold3.com/document/270106469/

Later on this painting was seen at the home of SKIRA (qv), who xhad brought it into Switzerland. (3) 4M& (4) XX 9037-7-a p. 6 French Dealer List (Vaucher) (5) ...

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London Dispatch No. 24195, Dated July 11, 1945, From John H. Scarff ...

https://www.fold3.com/document/270104207/

French and Swiss sources reported also that pictures may have been smuggled through Geneva by a certain Albert Skira. With ver" few exceptions neither the ...

You've visited this page 2 times. Last visit: 11/15/18

RECORDS OF THE AMERICAN COMMISSION FOR THE ... - Fold3

https://www.fold3.com/document/270085049/

May 5, 2011 - CAILLEK, Pierre Ind. Swiss Address: Geneva Subject was partner in the firm of Edition d'art Albert SKIRA (qv), S. A., Geneva. (l) According to ...

You've visited this page 2 times. Last visit: 11/15/18

Authority files:

Pierre Cailler: GND: 1064888194 | VIAF: 54070749 | Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse: URL: http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/f/F27704.php  |  ULAN:
Albert Skira: GND: 121601994 | VIAF: 54268876 | Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse URL: http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/f/F27771.php |  ULAN: http://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500326106

Hermann Voss

Visualising the networks of Herman Voss 
(data source: Art Looting Investigation Unit Final Report List of Red Flag Names 1946)

In the fall of 1945, the Office of Strategic Services Art Looting 

Investigation Unit interrogated Dr. Hermann Voss.

Voss had been the Director of the Dresden museum, the Director of Hitler's planned Linz museum and the head of the Linz Special Commission, which rounded up artworks for Hitler.

Hermann Voss: Art Looting Investigation Unit Detailed Interrogation Report Number 12 September 15, 1945

Despite concluding that Voss was the "official chiefly responsible for Hitler’s looting and purchasing policies after 1945" and notes that "VOSS' character is vacillating, and that he is an extraordinarily conceited and ambitious man" , the investigators seemed to hold a surprisingly tolerant view of this art professional. "His anti-Nazi options were well known," DIR No. 12 states.

"Among those who have testified to this effect, under specific interrogations, are LOHSE and BORCHERS (both of the Einsatzstab Rosenberg staff), and the dealers Wolfgang GURLITT, Hildebrandt GURLITT, and HABERSTOCK (chief dealer to POSSE and an enemy of long standing to VOSS.)

These character testimonies leave one a little breathless. 

Bruno LOHSE? Hildebrandt GURLITT? Karl HABERSTOCK? 

What does it mean to find the name H. Voss, Herman Voss, Hermann Voss, or Dr Hermann Voss in a provenance or in a bibliographical reference for an artwork?

"Concerning the Einsatzstab Rosenberg, VOSS repeatedly denied ever having heard of it before March 1943..."
 - OSS ALIU DIR 12 Hermann Voss

 Voss was arrested and interrogated by the Office of Strategic Services Art Looting Investigation Unit for his role in looting art for Hitler during the Nazi era. 

"Hermann Voss insisted that the offer came to him entirely as a surprise" 

"When he met HITLER at Rastenberg..."

Voss appears in the Art Looting Investigation Unit Red Flag List 19 times and had a Detailed Interrogation Report (DIR number 12) dedicated to him: 

• No. 12  Herman Voss, September 1945 (28 pp)

(Detailed Intelligence Reports (DIR): consist of reports dealing with the activities of various agents employed by Hitler, Göring and Rosenberg to acquire artworks for them in Axis-occupied countries.)

The ALIU Final Report of 1946 summarized VOSS' activities as follows:

"Voss, Dr Hermann. Munich. Director of the Linz Special Commission, the Linz Museum, and the Dresden Gallery from May 1943. Involved in the Schloss and Mannheimer collection (forced) sales, and the official chiefly responsible for Hitler’s looting and purchasing policies after 1945. In custody US 3rd Army, Munich, September 1945."

"Purchases for Linz outside Germany were made by VOSS' specially appointed agents,...Hildebrandt GURLITT, GOEPEL, and HERBST (of the Dorotheum, Vienna) were the most important"

The ALIU Final Report of 1946 linked VOSS to the following art dealers and Nazi personal:

Posse, Prof Dr Hans (deceased). Formerly Director of the State Picture Gallery, Dresden. Was appointed by Hitler as Director of the Special Commission for Linz in 1939, and became the most important official purchaser of works of art for Germany from 1939 through 1942. Died Dresden, 7 December 1942. Succeeded by Voss.

Goepel, Dr Erhard. Leipzig, Stieghtstrasse 76. Official Linz agent and buyer in Holland under Posse and Voss. Bought extensively in Holland and also travelled frequently in Belgium and France. Negotiated the forced sale of the Schloss Collection in Paris. Chief contacts: Vitale Bloch (Holland), Wuester, Wandl and Holzapfel (Paris).

Hoogendijk. Amsterdam, Kaizersgracht 640/Roemorvischerstraat 34. Prominent dealer who sold to Miedl, Hofer, Posse, Muehlmann and Voss during the occupation. Close friend of Friedlander and Schneider. Contact of Nathan Katz. Goering frequently visited his shop.

Mandl, Victor. Paris, 9 rue du Boetie. German refugee dealer, formerly active in Berlin. Highly important figure in German art purchases in Paris. Close contact of Wendland, Dietrich, Voss, Goepel, Muehlmann, Lohse, Loebl, Perdoux, Birtschansky and Wuester. Indicted by French Government for collaborationist activity.

de Boer, Pitt. Amsterdam, Heerengracht 512. Important and active dealer. President of the Dutch Dealers Association since Goudstikker’s death. Acquired Swiss as well as Dutch nationality early in the war, and visited Switzerland during the occupation. Discovered the first in the series of false Vermeers by van Meegeren. Close contact of Hofer, Muehlmann, Posse, Voss, Lohse and Miedl.

Oertel, Dr Rudolf (deceased). Assistant in charge of paintings for the Linz Special Commission. Between the death of Posse in December 1942 and the succession of Voss in March 1943, he shared with Reimer the administration of the Commission. Called to military service in 1944 on the Russian front, and not heard of since.

Grosshennig. Chemnitz, Rossmarkt 11 Annaberg (?). Director of Galerio Gerstenberger. Active as buyer in France. Held Linz certificate signed by Voss. In touch with Postma, Fabiani, Mandl, Boehler and Plietzsch.

Gurlitt, Wolfgang. Bad Aussee, Austria. Cousin of Hildebrandt Gurlitt. Former Berlin dealer. Close contact of Voss. Not seriously implicated in looting transactinos or purchases for German officials.

Pat-Zaade, Dr Robert. Berlin/Zehlendorf. Collector-dealer, active in Paris and Berlin. Sold to Lohse and in contact with Voss.

Reimer, Dr Gottfried. Dobeln, Saxony, Grimaisschestrasse 23. Administrative assistant to the Director of the Linz Commission from June 1941 until the end of the war, first under Posse, later under Voss. Not a Party member, and involved in only one known looting operation.

Schilling, Georg. Zurich, Spuelgenstrasse 6 Cologne, Komoedienstrasse 39 Markelfingen/Bodensee. Art dealer. Chief buyer for Linz in Belgium under Voss, who gave him a Linz certificate. Also active as agent for Goering.

Waldner, Josef. Art dealer, employed occasionally as agent by Voss. Contact of Mohnen. Active in France.

Weber, Walter. Bonn. Wealthy collector and close friend of Voss. Held a Linz travel certificate. Purchased six minor pictures in Paris for Linz.

Zinckgraf. Formerly bookkeeper and manager of the Bernheimer Gallery, Munich. Later became its owner. Sold to Voss for Wiesbaden.

Schmidt, Ernst. Berlin. Friend of Voss, active in acquiring objects for Linz in Germany.

"Voss complains of the abruptness of his reception..."
OSS ALIU DIR 12: Hermann Voss

"the part played by Hermann VOSS in HITLER's scheme of things in not altogether clear."

"During a month of interrogation, he (VOSS) impressed his several questioners very unfavourable. It was their unanimous opinion that VOSS' character is vacillating, and that he is an extraordinarily conceited and ambitious man. His constant reliance on failure of memory to explain discrepancies in his testimony did not improve the atmosphere of the interrogations."

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OSS ART LOOTING INVESTIGATION UNIT DETAILED INTERROGATION REPORT NUMBER 12: HERMANN VOSS

ONLINE COLLECTION Die Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden

Edward Speelman in America

Landscape with a Wheatfield. 

Jacob van Ruisdael

Below is a partial list of artworks which arrived in American museums in part thanks to the work of  UK art dealer Edward Speelman. (source: Getty Provenance Index Public Collections).

Even incomplete, the Getty Provenance Index Public Collections list gives a good idea of the role of Speelman in forming American collections, including:

• 17 paintings at the J. P. Getty Museum
• 15 paintings at the Norton Simon
• 3 painting in Boston MFA and Saint Louis
• and more

To see the complete, up-to-date list go to the museums' websites. See also "The Legacy of Edward Speelman"

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	GPI: Speelman in Provenance
Institution	Artist Name	Title	Accession No.
Los Angeles, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum	HOOCH, PIETER DE (Dutch)	A Woman Preparing Bread and Butter for a Boy	84.PA.47
Los Angeles, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum	GENTILESCHI, ORAZIO (Italian)	Rest on the Flight into Egypt	71.PA.12 [deaccessioned]
Los Angeles, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum	RUBENS, PETER PAUL (Flemish), workshop	The Meeting of David and Abigail	73.PA.68
Los Angeles, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum	LISSE, DIRCK VAN DER (Dutch)	Landscape with Bacchanalian Procession	72.PB.12
Los Angeles, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum	REMBRANDT HARMENSZ. VAN RIJN (Dutch)	An Old Man in Military Costume	78.PB.246
Los Angeles, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum	RUISDAEL, JACOB VAN (Dutch)	Landscape with Wheat Field	83.PA.278
Los Angeles, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum	HOLBEIN, HANS (THE YOUNGER) (German), attributed	Allegory with Horse and Rider	80.PB.72
Los Angeles, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum	CUYP, AELBERT (Dutch)	A View of the Maas at Dordrecht	83.PB.272
Los Angeles, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum	BORCH, GERARD TER (II) (Dutch)	A Maid Milking a Cow in a Barn	83.PB.232
Los Angeles, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum	STEEN, JAN (Dutch)	The Drawing Lesson	83.PB.388
Los Angeles, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum	SAENREDAM, PIETER JANSZ. (Dutch)	The Interior of St. Bavo, Haarlem	85.PB.225
Los Angeles, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum	KONINCK, PHILIPS DE (Dutch)	Panoramic Landscape	85.PA.32
Los Angeles, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum	BORCH, GERARD TER (II) (Dutch)	Interior of a Stable	86.PB.631
Los Angeles, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum	GOSSAERT, JAN (Netherlandish)	Francisco de los Cobos (?)	88.PB.43
Los Angeles, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum	SCHALCKEN, GODFRIED (Dutch)	The Annunciation	86.PB.464
Los Angeles, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum	BECCAFUMI, DOMENICO (Italian)	Saint Catherine of Siena Receiving the Stigmata	97.PB.25
Los Angeles, CA, J. Paul Getty Museum	BECCAFUMI, DOMENICO (Italian)	The Miraculous Communion of Saint Catherine of Siena	97.PB.26
Minneapolis, MN, Minneapolis Institute of Arts	BRUGGHEN, HENDRICK TER (Dutch)	The Gamblers	60.17
Princeton, NJ, Art Museum, Princeton University	BATONI, POMPEO GIROLAMO (Italian)	Madonna and Child in Glory	77-51
Saint Louis, MO, Saint Louis Art Museum	PYNACKER, ADAM (Dutch)	Landscape with a Goatherd	150:1982
Saint Louis, MO, Saint Louis Art Museum	HOBBEMA, MEINDERT (Dutch)	View along the Amstel	1:1982
Saint Louis, MO, Saint Louis Art Museum	OSTADE, ADRIAEN VAN (Dutch)	Peasants Dancing in a Tavern	147:1966
Washington, DC, National Gallery of Art	WTEWAEL, JOACHIM ANTONISZ. (Dutch)	Moses Striking the Rock	1972.11.1
Washington, DC, National Gallery of Art	DEVIS, ARTHUR (British)	Portrait of a Man	1964.2.3
Boston, MA, Museum of Fine Arts	WITTE, PIETER DE (PIETRO CANDIDO) (Flemish)	The Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine	1980.72
Boston, MA, Museum of Fine Arts	GELDER, ARENT DE (Dutch)	Rest on the Flight to Egypt	57.182
Boston, MA, Museum of Fine Arts	RUYSDAEL, SALOMON VAN (Dutch)	View of Beverwijk	1982.396
Pasadena, CA, Norton Simon Museum	BIJLERT, JAN HERMANSZ. VAN (Dutch)	Portrait of an Officer in Armour	M.1978.18.P
Pasadena, CA, Norton Simon Museum	CLAUDE LORRAIN (CLAUDE GELLÉE) (French)	Landscape with Jacob and Laban and his Daughters	M.1976.1.P
Pasadena, CA, Norton Simon Museum	BERCHEM, NICOLAES PIETERSZ. (Dutch)	A Pastoral Scene	F.1972.15.4.P
Pasadena, CA, Norton Simon Museum	FYT, JAN (Flemish)	Still Life with Red Curtain	F.1972.36.3.P
Pasadena, CA, Norton Simon Museum	GOYEN, JAN JOSEPHSZ. VAN (Dutch)	A River Landscape with a View of Overschie	F.1969.49.P
Pasadena, CA, Norton Simon Museum	KEYSER, THOMAS DE (Dutch), circle	Portrait of a Man	F.1972.15.3.1.P
Pasadena, CA, Norton Simon Museum	KEYSER, THOMAS DE (Dutch), circle	Portrait of a Woman	F.1972.15.3.2.P
Pasadena, CA, Norton Simon Museum	MAES, NICOLAES (Dutch)	A Family Portrait with a View of Dordrecht	F.1972.15.2.P
Pasadena, CA, Norton Simon Museum	MAGNASCO, ALESSANDRO (LISSANDRINO) (Italian)	Interior with Monks	F.1973.34.1.P
Pasadena, CA, Norton Simon Museum	METSU, GABRIEL (Dutch)	Woman at her Toilette	F.1972.15.1.P
Pasadena, CA, Norton Simon Museum	MOILLON, LOUISE (French)	Still Life with Cherries, Strawberries, and Gooseberries	F.1972.36.2.P
Pasadena, CA, Norton Simon Museum	NEER, AERT VAN DER (Dutch)	Winter Scene with Figures Playing Golf	F.1972.35.P
Pasadena, CA, Norton Simon Museum	SAVERY, ROELANDT (Dutch)	Landscape with Animals and Birds	F.1972.36.1.P
Pasadena, CA, Norton Simon Museum	VERSPRONCK, JOHANNES CORNELISZ. (Dutch)	Portrait of a Lady	F.1973.34.2.P
Pasadena, CA, Norton Simon Museum	SAVERY, ROELANDT (Dutch)	Landscape with Animals and Birds	F.1972.36.1.P
New York, NY, Frick Collection	BRUEGEL, PIETER (THE ELDER) (Flemish)	The Three Soldiers	65.1.163

see also : the Legacy of Edward Speelman

Art Dealers: The Many Names of Koetser

LANDSCAPE WITH FIGURES
Provenance:
Horatio Granville Murray Stewart, dates unknown; David M. Koetser Gallery, by 1957; purchased from gallery by Seattle Art Museum, January 4, 1957

In the provenance of an artwork, the name "Koetser" can refer to "Koetser Gallery", "David M Koetser", "Leonard Koetser", "Brian Koetser", "Henri Koetser", "Asscher, Koetser and Welker" and more.   

How to distinguish them all? 

At the NGA in Washington, for example, a search on Koetser will return three possibilities:

NGA search choices for Koetser

Koetser is known to have used several pseudonyms in art dealing transactions. Aliases are said to include: "H. Cevat", "Rocker", "Level" and "Kaye".

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. 

For a few examples see:

Explorations in Digital Art History: KOETSER

https://www.openartdata.org/2019/03/explorations-in-digital-art-history.html

Edward Speelman and the Toledo Museum of Art

https://ia800307.us.archive.org/10/items/europeanpainting00tole/europeanpainting00tole.pdf

In 1976 the Toledo Museum of Art published a 404 page catalog of its European paintings.

(see also: The Legacy of Edward Speelman and Speelman in America)

Speelman is mentioned ten times in the 1967 catalog in connection with the following artworks:

Shepherdess Reading a Sonnet pl. 97 [1628] 

Oil on canvas 41 x 29^ in. (104.2 x 74.9 cm.) Signed and dated upper right: A. Bloemaert. fe:/i628 Ace. no. 55.34
collections: Anthony Aupine, Hoviton, Norfolk?; So- phia Dawson and her descendants, St. Leonard's Hill, Windsor Forest, by 1818-1955; (Sotheby, London, Apr. 6, 1955, lot 96); (Speelman, London).