Rodin treasures destroyed with 'museum in the sky'
Maev Kennedy, arts and heritage correspondent Friday September 21, 2001 The Guardian
A spectacular art collection, including sculptures and drawings by Rodin, has been destroyed with the twin towers of the World Trade Centre. The global securities firm Cantor Fitzgerald, whose New York headquarters was destroyed with the loss of hundreds of staff, was founded by B Gerald Cantor, the greatest private collector of works by Rodin in the world. The company continued the founder's interests, displaying works in a gallery at its offices on the 105th floor of the North Tower, proudly described as its "museum in the sky". The collection included contemporary and 19th century American and European paintings, sculptures and photographs.
Cantor Fitzgerald is still trying to account for all its employees, and has not begun to try to make an inventory of its art losses. However, a spokesman for the company's London operation confirmed that the trade tower collection had been "entirely lost".
Cantor owned copies of the French sculptor's most famous works, including the Hand of God, the Kiss, the Thinker, and the Burghers of Calais. Rodin made several versions of most of his works, often in marble and bronze. By the time of Cantor's death in 1996, he and his wife, Iris, had given away more than 450 sculptures and drawings by Rodin - out of a collection of more than 700 works - to 70 museums and galleries around the world. He gave 187 Rodins, including the Thinker, the Head of Balzac, and the Gates of Hell, to Stanford University, making it the second largest collection after the Musée Rodin in Paris. Even after these gifts, there still remained a spectacular private collection, still being added to by his widow, and the now lost corporate collection in the World Trade Centre. Cantor Fitzgerald had almost 1,000 workers in New York, of whom more than 600 are still missing. http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Signed Picasso drawing reported stolen from Manhattan art gallery
Friday September 20, 2001 - 12:07:33
NEW YORK (AP) - A signed Picasso drawing was reported stolen from a Manhattan gallery. Police spokeswoman Cheryl Cox said Wednesday the ink-on-paper drawing was reported missing from the Richard Gray gallery on Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side. Andrew Fabricant, the gallery's director, said he was on the telephone around noon Monday when he heard someone enter the gallery. He said when he turned around about 10 seconds later, he saw a blank space on the wall and noticed that the elevator was in use. "It happened that fast," he said, adding that he immediately called police. The 1923 drawing, Young Nude Man at the Mirror, Playing a Pan Flute, and Child, is worth $320,000, Fabricant said. He said the drawing would be difficult, if not impossible, to sell because auction houses have been notified of its disappearance and prospective buyers would require extensive documentation of its prior owners. Fabricant said he believed the thief might have been trying to take advantage of the crisis situation in New York following last week's terrorist attacks. "It certainly crossed my mind," he said. http://www.therecord.com/ From: "Fabio Maniscalco" osservatoriobc@tin.it Subject:
Book about the protection of cultural heritages
Napoli, 21.09.2001
Dear Director,
I am the Director of the Permanent Observatory for the Protection of Cultural and Environmental Objects of the Nations in crisis of I.S.FO.R.M. and I am Professor of "Protection of Cultural Heritage" in the University "Orientale" of Naples. I'm also editor of a monographic revue "Mediterraneum. Tutela e Valorizzazione dei Beni Culturali ed Ambientali". Mediterraneum is a scientific revue about the protection and the valorization of cultural heritages. The next book of Mediterraneum will be concerning the cultural heritages in areas of crisis. If you want to publish an article about your activity of protection of cultural heritage in area on crisis, you can send me the article and some photos (max 18 photos and/or dia; max 15-20 pages of text). You can write the article in English or French. I will insert an abstract in Italian. You must send your article within the month of December 2001 to my personal address: "V.le Colli Aminei n. 461, lotto 15, 80131, Naples (Napoli) Italy (Italia)" or at my e-mail osservatoriobc@tin.it Warmest regards Prof. Fabio Maniscalco
200-Year-Old Pictograph Destroyed
By CATHERINE S. BLAKE, Associated Press Writer
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Vandals scratched an Indian pictograph known as the Blue Buffalo out of existence, destroying priceless rock art created about 200 years ago in Utah's southeast desert. The damage, discovered last weekend, was just the latest act of vandalism in the area in the past month, the Bureau of Land Management said. The decimated pictograph showed a shield, several figures and a buffalo painted on a large sheet of sandstone in a canyon about 15 miles northwest of Moab. The 16-foot-long panel was unusual because of the blue paint and the depiction of a buffalo in motion, said Bruce Louthan, an archaeologist with the bureau. Louthan said the buffalo was either leaning down to eat or preparing to charge. Often, rock art shows figures standing stiffly with no intended action, he said. Blue paint is also less common than red or brown paint, he said, although the paint substance came from minerals in nearby rocks. The Bureau of Land Management oversees 2 million acres in southeast of Utah, and area that contains hundreds of piece of rock art. There is too much rock art to fence off every site, the bureau said. The destroyed panel was priceless and cannot be replaced, said Maggie Wyatt, field manager for the bureau. The artist was believed to be from the Ute tribe. ``We don't know the meaning of rock art, it could be religious or artistic,'' Wyatt said. ``It is sacred and has deep meaning for the Native Americans who made them. We should respect that.'' The bureau has been investigating several acts of vandalism in the past month in the area and has a standing $500 reward for information. An additional $5,000 is being offered for information about the Blue Buffalo vandalism.
On the Net:
The Bureau of Land Management: http://www.ut.blm.gov/