'Museum must sell its Cézannes to survive,' criticism.
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The exhibition will possibly go up for auction, controversially violating ethical guidelines for selling works of art in museums. However, the Langmatt Museum in Switzerland said it was necessary to prevent bankruptcy.
A still life by Paul Cézanne
One of the paintings up for sale, namely the still life "Fruit and a Pot of Ginger" by Paul Cézanne, is a magnificent work by the Langmatt Museum in Baden, which houses a small collection of Impressionist works. The museum has stated that financial necessity is forcing it to sell the painting, and possibly two others, to stave off bankruptcy. The still life is estimated to be worth between $35 million and $55 million at auction Thursday in New York under''by the management of Christie's auction house.
Criticism of the sale of paintings
The critics, however, were not convinced of the need to sell the paintings. Tobia Bezzola, president of the Swiss branch of the International Council of Museums, called the prospect of a sale "outrageous," "short-sighted" and a violation of his organization's ethical principles about removing paintings from display in museums. "Bequests and donations come into museums because people think they will be safe," said Bezzola, who has pushed for the sale to be canceled. "All important collections in Switzerland come from private donations and bequests, so this sends a terrible signal. "
The museum's final decision
The museum did not, however, change its decision to sell the still life'''Fruit and Ginger Pot'' (1890-93), and in recent days said the sale would also result in compensation to the family of a Jewish art concessionaire who had previously been a partial owner of the work.
The museum said new research has demonstrated that the painting, which was purchased from a Jewish concessionaire and his partner in 1933 by the museum founder's father, was likely sold under duress. The discovery was made after the sale was announced by Christie's, and so the museum recently contacted the heirs of concessionaire Jacob Goldschmidt to negotiate an agreement to reimburse them for the loss of the painting's endeavor. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Biography of Goldschmidt
Mara Vantuch-Tole, attorney-at-law,'''representing the rights of the concessionaire's grandchildren, said they were unaware of Goldschmidt's ownership of the painting until they were contacted by the Langmatt Foundation, the museum's owner. She said the agreement was reached during "one weekend of intense work." "Once it becomes apparent that the deal could not have happened were it not for persecution by the Nazi regime," she said, "reaching an agreement does not necessarily require a lengthy and laborious process. "
The story behind the sale of the painting
Director of the Langmatt Museum Markus Stegmann said, "We are very relieved everything has been sorted out," adding, "We thought it might not be possible in such a short period of time. "
The Nazis were already in power and the persecution of Jews had already begun in 1933 when Gallery M.''fair market price at the time.
"You can come to different conclusions in this case," he said. "But it was clear to us that Goldschmidt was in a difficult position and was suffering a lot. He really needed money to support his family and escape.
Additional research
Lukas Broening-Hollinger, president of the Langmatt Foundation, said new evidence has come out since the sale was announced. Museum officials and representatives from Christie'\''s auction house declined to detail that evidence.
In a statement, Christie's said that "in the course of our thorough pre-sale research of the belonging," the auction house and the Langmatt Foundation found that it was necessary to further investigate the ownership history of the''Fruit and Ginger Pot' painting.
Christie'\'\''s is working to recover items that may have changed hands during the Nazi era. But as recently as this year, the auction house drew widespread criticism after it held a sale of jewelry whose proceeds were built in part on profits from the purchase of Jewish businesses during the Holocaust.
Stegmann said that when the foundation sent the painting to Christie'\''s, the museum alerted the trading house to Goldschmidt's previous ownership, which was pointed out by the paintings' own provenance researchers during a recent intensive review of the collection.
Vantuch-Tole, a lawyer for the concessionaire's great-grandchildren, said Goldschmidtwas strongly'' to the Frankfurt gallery's'suffered a Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses in 1933. Tax records show that he began selling out afterward and rented an apartment in Paris, she said. None of the originals or catalogs of his gallery have survived, so reconstructing the sales he made under duress requires careful cross-checking of the records of other dealers he worked with, the lawyer added.
In 1934, Goldschmidt was banned from working as a dealer and moved out of the gallery and into his mother's apartment, Vantuch-Tole said. After paying the punitive "Reich flight tax," he fled to Paris in 1936 and was interned in France from 1939 to 1941. He then went to the United States and resumed his activities as''art dealer. Two of his sisters perished in the Holocaust.
The financial outlook for the museum
Stegmann described the possible sale of Cézanne's paintings as an "extraordinary measure" necessary for the museum's survival. The foundation hopes to raise 40 million Swiss francs (about $44 million) from the sale at Christie's and create a fund whose income would be sufficient to ensure the foundation's financial well-being and the museum's operation.
Christie's, in its preliminary announcement of the sale, describes the formalities of bidding on the Cézanne painting on Thursday as "inimitable" because it has developed a protocol to allow the museum to sell as many assets as it needs.
Additional paintings up for sale
The other two'. 'Cézanne's paintings from the Langmatt Collection will only be offered for sale if bids for "Fruit and a Pot of Ginger" fail to reach the target of CHF 40 million. If that happens, "Four Apples and a Knife," dating from around 1885, with a guide price of between $7 million and $10 million, and "Sea at Estaca," dating from 1878-79, with a guide price of between $3 million and $5 million, will be withdrawn from the sale.
Stegmann said he is confident the Langmatt Foundation will still accomplish its goal, even with an agreement to indemnify Goldschmidt's heirs. "We have to decide on the spot in the sales room whether to sell the next painting or not," Stegmann said. "We will have to calculate that very quickly, based on the''the last dollar rate'.
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