Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 1 : Presscuttings, 1959-1962

nnnININNIMIMINIMINNIMU * A BIDDING battle by two of the biggest art dealers took the price of this Rubens picture Adoration of the Magi to a record -breaking E275,000. ed: "Of the 700 or so paintings Corot made in his lifetime, 8000 are to be found in America alone." He was joking. of course, but that sort of crack doesn't bring a laugh In the art world. It's too near the mark -- and the cheque book. After all, who can trust the experts when they so often can't agree among themselves? They have been arguing for months now about the picture Geoffrey Agnew bought on behalf of oil tycoon Paul Getty. Ruben's "Diana and her Nymphs" was a proud and much -publicised embellishment to the walls of the millionaire's home at Sutton Place, Guildford. Until Mr Sherman Lee, director of the Museum of Art, Cleveland. Ohio, got to hear about it. "Rubbish," said Mr Lee, "'Diana and her Nymphs' is right here. We paid f100,000 for it." "Nonsense," retorted Mr Getty. "It's in my place. I paid £150,000 for it." Expert dealer Agnew says: "Rubens painted both of them." Dramatic exposure Expert dealer Koetser says: "One of them is a copy, probably by a Rubens pupil." Expert dealer Speelman says: "No comment." Before 1945, the expert's word was law so far as the connoisseurs were concerned. Then came the dramatic expos- ure of the Dutch copyist. Ilan van Meegeren, the man who fooled /cry expert to the world His priceless "Vertneers" were proved to be fakes and from then on, every major painting was given a long second look by the people who cared for "Art for Art's Sake." Alter that, who could ever be sure again? The answer, as always, lies with the big-time money -bags. These are the people behind the inflated prices which many paint- ings - and they are not all Old Masters - are bringing today. How many of the big-time buy- ers really care about the beauty of the paintings they pay such fortunes for? Says top expert Agnew: "About 75 per cent." Says top expert Koetser: "About 70 per cent." Says top expert Speelman: "No comment " Adds top expert Agnew: "But they learn to love beautiful things The possessors become the possessed " Adds top expert Koetser: "I would rather not sell to such people " Adds top expert Speelman, "But why don't you ask Mr Koelfair or Mr Agnew I don't like publicity All differences of opinion apart. the millionaires of the world (whether they are shipowners or film stars, will go on buying big. After all, they can hardly impress their fellow -moguls by papering their walls with pound notes or dollar bills - their fellow -moguls have each an acre or two them- selves. So they send blank cheques to the dealers. For all they know or care they could be buying Cadillacs for Junior or minks for the Little Lady. So next time you hear art des- cribed as the "distilled and most potent essence of visuability." remember the experts who can't agree on what is good, the mil- lionaires who push up prices for their own self-aggrandisement, the fakes, frauds and 10 -per -centers, and remember, too, poor old Paul Gauguin whose "I Await the Letter" went for £130,000 after a fight between two New York dealers two years ago Like so many other men of true artistic genius. Gauguin died broke. * MILLIONAIRE oil tycoon Paul Getty paid £150,000 for this Rubens - Diana and her Nymphs with Satyrs, was then told his picture was only a good Copy. Australasian POST, June 14, 1962-Page 13 141111P77.0,--