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June 20, 1999
CONTENTS:
- 350 000 ouvrages detruit a Lyon (in French)
- Two Munch paintings requested for exhibition in Chemnitz, Germany
- Theft of two J. Alden Weir paintings
- IFCPP News
- International Seminar on Art and Antique Theft
- query: Miro drawing
- MOMA and Kazimir Malevich heirs
- New Fax Number David Shillingford
- RE: disturbed visitors
- query: Art falsification
- FM200 Fire suppressant
- Masked Gunmen Rob Babe Ruth Museum
- The Louvre to return looted Tiepolo painting
- U.S. to Fight Smuggling of Nicaraguan Treasures
- Michelangelo Crucifix Return Home
- Thieves Return Sacred Mohammed Relic
From: "Rizio Bruno Sant'Ana" rbruno@internetcom.com.br
Subject: 350 000 ouvrages detruit a Lyon (in French)
Quelque 350 000 ouvrages et le quart de l'un des plus beaux monuments du patrimoine historique de la ville ont été détruit par un gigantesque incendie. Même si la majeure partie du fonds, ancien a été miraculeusement préservée, une émotion unanimement partagée et une grande solidarité se sont manifestées dès les premières heures de la matinée d'hier, tandis que des voix s'élevaient pour dénoncer la non-conformité aux normes de sécurité de la bibliothèque inter-universitaire du quai Claude-Bernard. La majorité du fonds ancien miraculeusement préservée Sur 480 000 ouvrages que comptait la bibliothèque inter-universitaire de Lyon II et Lyon III, "environ 350 000 ont été détruits par le feu ou réduits en pâte à papier par l'eau " indique Bruno Gelas, président de Lyon II. Sans illusion. « Les 80 000 ouvrages qui se trouvent dans l'aile nord, épargnée par l'incendie, n'ont pas été touchés». « Plusieurs centaines de livres sont abîmés, mais la majorité du fonds ancien a été miraculeusement préservée, à l'exception des périodiques du XVIII et du XIX° siècles » précise Charles Micol, conservateur en chef de la bibliothèque inter-universitaire. « C'est le patrimoine des universités qui est atteint, des collections précieuses en histoire, droit, lettres et sciences humaines. Nous avions célébré le centième anniversaire de la bibliothèque en 1996 » ajoute M. Micol, pour qui « le bilan est extrêmement négatif ». « Un désastre peur la science » A priori, la majeure partie des collections du XIX° et La totalité des ouvrages du XX° siècle sont détruites. Toutes les thèses de Lyon II sont également parties en fumées. « Cest un désastre pour la science » déplore Yann Le Bohec, vice-président à la Recherche de l'université Lyon III. « Je connais très bien cette bibliothèque, que je fréquente très souvent dans le cadre de mes recherches sur l'histoire romaine. Je faisais encore la semaine dernière des photocopies d'un ouvrage unique en France. C'est une perte énorme pour le patrimoine lyonnais, rhônalpin et français ».
Extrait du Journal "Le Progrès" du 13/06/99; Article par Nathalie Avril
Rizio Bruno Sant'Ana
rbruno@internetcom.com.br
From: "Sarah Jackson" sarah.jackson@artloss.com
Subject: Two Munch paintings requested for exhibition in Chemnitz, Germany
Two Munch paintings requested for exhibition in Chemnitz, Germany. The Städtische Kunstsammlung Chemnitz would like to include the following two Munch paintings in an exhibition in Autumn 1999, recreating an exhibition of Munch paintings held in Chemnitz in 1929. Information is sought on the current whereabouts of the following two paintings, for inclusion in the exhibition:
Tauwetter, 1906 (also known as 'Thaw at Elgersburg')
Oil on canvas
76 x 99 cms
Signed lower left: E. Munch
Last auctioned in Paris in 1990. Believed now to be in a private collection.
A Girl Chopping Wood, 1910 (also known as 'Autumn Landscape')
Oil on canvas
42 x 66 cms
Signed lower left: E. Munch
Last known location was a private collection in Badenweiler.
Please contact Frau Beate Ritter, Curator, Städtische Kunstsammlungen
Chemnitz, Germany Tel: 00 49 371 488 4424.
From: Peter Millen Peter.Millen@wcom.com
Subject: Theft of two J. Alden Weir paintings
COOPERSTOWN (NY) - Two turn-of-the-century paintings worth an estimated $100,000 were stolen from the Cooper Inn on Saturday afternoon. They were discovered missing by a clerk and are now the subject of an investigation by the Cooperstown Village Police Department, state police and the Otsego County Sheriff's Department. An agent from the FBI is scheduled to meet with local police at 11:30 a.m. today to see if federal investigators can help track down the thief, according to Cooperstown Police Chief Michael Crippen. "We're looking for any help we can get with this," Crippen said. The paintings, created in the late 1800s by J. Alden Weir, have been owned by Jane Forbes Clark's family for years, said Frank Maloney, general manager of the Cooper Inn, as well as the Otesaga Hotel. "It's very distressing that this has happened. You just don't think of fine art being stolen from Cooperstown," Maloney said. "The inn has been totally redecorated and looks wonderful with the paintings on the walls, but as a result of this, I'm sure we are going to have to take some security measures."
J. Alden Weir is a well-known, late-19th-century landscape artist, according to Gilbert T. Vincent, president of the New York State Historical Association. The son of the drawing master at West Point, Weir is not related to the Weir family of Cooperstown, he said. Vincent said the paintings that were stolen were of high quality. One, titled "Belt of Woods," is a forest landscape measuring 16 inches by 25 inches. It was painted on wood, was signed by the artist in 1888 and is valued at $70,000, according to police records. The other painting, an Adirondacks scene, measures slightly more than 12 inches by slightly more than 20 inches and also is signed. Its value is estimated at $30,000.
Maloney said that because the thief or thieves concentrated on two high-quality paintings by the same artist, it would appear "that someone knew what he was doing." Vincent said these paintings "can never be sold on the open market again." An international registry will assure that if the paintings surface, they will be returned to the Clark family, he said. Anyone with information about the paintings is asked to contact Cooperstown police at 607-547-2500.
(c) 1999 The Daily Star.
From: Steve Layne GlobalRiskConsultants@compuserve.com
Subject: IFCPP News
http://www.ifcpp.com/
June is membership month, and all memberships renew for one full year automatically, with credit for those who joined earlier added. For this month only, we're offering a discount for new members, plus referral bonuses for those who bring in new members. Please contact Rob if you need additional applications or information. The newsletter has been CLOSE to completed, but my crazy travel schedule in the last month kept it from being finalized. If you have ANY items of interest, news, job openings, or other announcements....NOW is the time. Don't worry about format...just get me the information as quickly as you can by e-mail or fax and I'll take care of the rest. The conference plans are moving along quickly now with a super team of presenters on line....and I do mean SUPER. This will be an event you won't want to miss. The official registration and other information will be out with the newsletter, and posted to the web site. We're undergoing a major upgrade to the site which should be completed in another two weeks. The association continues to grow, and our resources for technical, legal, and other information are also increasing dramatically. Look for special announcements in the newsletter. We need to hear from YOU! I'll be appearing at the Mountain Plains Library Association conference in Montana next week, and recently "spread the word" at the New Hampshire Library Conference and Midwest Security Conference. Always interested in upcoming events, conferences, or other opportunities to present information about the Foundation. Best wishes for a great summer and an outstanding fall conference experience. Hope to see you there.
- STEVE
Stevan P. Layne, CPP
IFCPP, Founding Director
Steve@IFCPP.com
Kenwoord Associates Present An International Seminar on Art and Antique Theft
6 - 10 July 1998
Southampton Institute
Sponsored by:-
Antiques Trade Gazette and The Art Loss Register
http://www.kenwood.uk.com/
From: "Adrienne Raff-Prekop" arp@mint.net
Subject: Fw: Miro drawing
I have been offered the opportunity to purchase what I suspect is an original Miro grease crayon and water color drawing. It is entitled, "Personage davant le lune." On the back of the drawing is a sticker that says "On loan from Thornton K. Lothrop, 4/10/47." I have been able to discover that there appears to be a complementary drawing or collage entitled "Personage davant el sol," but can discover no more about the drawing in question. I have contacted the Fogg Museum and Harvard University with no result. Can you offer me any information that might lead to discovering the provenance of this work? I have no intention of purchasing a stolen item. Neither can I report it, because I am having great difficulty having it authenticated. The Miro foundation in Barcelona has kindly offered to evaluate it if I bring it to Spain.... Any information that you could provide me would be deeply appreciated.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Adrienne Raff-Prekop
From: "Biondo, Drew" DBION@herrick.com
Subject: MALEVICH.doc
The Museum of Modern Art and Heirs of Kazimir Malevich Reach Agreement The Museum of Modern Art and the heirs of Kazimir Malevich, the Russian artist, announced today that they have reached an agreement regarding the Malevich works that have been at MoMA since 1935. The artist's descendants will receive an undisclosed cash payment and one painting, Suprematist Composition (1923-25), while fifteen works by the pioneering abstract artist - six paintings and nine works on paper - will remain at the Museum. Glenn D. Lowry, Director of The Museum of Modern Art, said: "It is rare that one can find an equitable solution to such a complicated problem, and I am delighted that we have found one where everyone wins. The Museum of Modern Art can continue to share Malevich's revolutionary work with the public; Malevich's descendants are compensated; and the artist will maintain the major public presence in the West that he strove for during his life." Lawrence M. Kaye, an attorney for the heirs, also lauded the settlement: "The family is very happy that this matter has been resolved in a way that acknowledges Malevich's legacy and assures the perpetuation of their illustrious ancestor's contributions to the history of twentieth-century art." Clemens Toussaint, the German art historian who has been assisting the heirs, added that the family also plans to establish and endow a foundation whose principal aims will be to support research and scholarship concerning Malevich's works. Kirk Varnedoe, Chief Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art, said: "These works have a long and wonderful history in The Museum of Modern Art. Malevich's work was all but unknown in the U.S. before, through the efforts of founding director Alfred Barr, it came to MoMA, which has cared for, exhibited, and written about this art." -more- A long and complex journey brought the works from Leningrad, first to a museum basement in Germany, then to MoMA's Midtown Manhattan galleries in the years before World War II. In 1927, the artist brought approximately 100 of his works from Leningrad to Berlin for exhibition at the prestigious Berliner Ausstellung. When he returned to the Soviet Union, Malevich left his works in Germany with the architect Hugo Haering. But Malevich was never able to get back to Germany and died in Leningrad in 1935. After the Berlin exhibition ended, Haering placed the art with Alexander Dorner, then director of the Landesmuseum in Hannover, Germany, who exhibited it until "degenerate" art was condemned by the Nazi government. At considerable risk, Dorner hid Malevich's works in the museum's basement. In 1935, Barr, travelling throughout Europe in search of works for inclusion in The Museum of Modern Art's upcoming exhibition Cubism and Abstract Art, visited Dorner, who took him to the museum basement and revealed Malevich's work. Barr brought some Malevich works back to New York and Dorner sent others to the Museum, which has exhibited them ever since. In 1993, after the demise of the Soviet Union, the family, with the assistance of art historian Toussaint, initiated the discussions with the Museum that led to today's announcement. About Malevich's Work In 1915, after years of experimenting with various styles, Malevich (1878-1935) developed the work for which he is best known, in an austere yet elegant nonobjective style that he would call Suprematism. Working with black and colored geometric forms positioned against a white background, Malevich set out to create an art without allusions to the natural world, that, when most successful, would embody profound spirituality while conveying a modern sense of disembodied dynamism. His art was not always completely lacking in references to the material world, however, and the technological marvels of the day, such as the airplane, were of particular interest to him. ###
From: "David Shillingford" DavidSALRNY@worldnet.att.net
Subject: New Fax Number
You can now send faxes to my computer by dialing (305) 768 6176
David Shillingford
d_j_s@bigfoot.com
Tel : 212 262 4831
Fax: 212 262 4838
Cell: 917 520 5093
UK: 171 235 3393
Web site: http://www.artloss.com
From: Gary Yee gyee@famsf.org
Subject: RE: disturbed visitors
Concerning Disturbed Visitors, I'm under the impression that a ticket for admission (in the USA) is a license which entitles the bearer to enter and enjoy the premises. Upon abuse, that license may be revoked. The remedy is to refund the individual so as to limit their recourse. A greater problem arises when the disturbed individual becomes a "member" of your institution with the privilege of unlimited admission during public hours. Now you've got to convince your Membership Director that their $50-100 or what not isn't worth it! A much tougher proposition since they're concerned is revenue generation/support and ours is security.
Gary Yee
FAMSF
From: "Rodrigo Arturo Cßrdenas Espinosa" rodar@servidor.unam.mx
Subject: Art falsification
I am an intellectual property professor and, on request of my editor,
I am writing a book on ART FALSIFICATION, and I would know if you have info about this subject.
Thanks in advance.
R. Arturo Cardenas
Instituto de Ingenieria
Grupo de Propiedad Intelectual
Universidad de Mexico
From: Stuart Park StuartP@tepapa.govt.nz
Subject: FM200 Fire suppressant
We specified Inergen as the fire suppressant for our new postage stamp storage room. The contractor has come back requesting we consider FM200 which is a different kind of inert gas. I know nothing about this, including maintenance cost, effectiveness, associated residue etc. I have asked the contractor for information but if any of you know anything about FM200 I would appreciate the information. The architect tells me that measurement of volume of space in which Inergen is being used is very critical - even an additional filing cabinet can mean a new calculation and amount of gas required but that this level of criticality is not required for FM200. Any advice would be appreciated
Stuart Park
General Manager Museum Resources & National Services,
Te Papa, Museum of New Zealand
Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand.
Stuartp@tepapa.govt.nz
Saturday June 12 7:14 PM ET
Masked Gunmen Rob Babe Ruth Museum
BALTIMORE (AP) - The house of Ruth was robbed again Saturday. For the third time in two weeks, two masked gunmen held up employees at the Babe Ruth Museum and Birthplace, police said. The robbers, one of whom wielded a silver-plated handgun, made off with an undetermined amount of cash. Investigators believe the same pair committed all three robberies, police spokesman Sgt. Scott Rowe said. ``I think they'll keep doing this until they get caught,'' Rowe said. The New York Yankees slugger was born in 1895 in Baltimore. His birthplace is a few blocks from the Baltimore Orioles' current stadium at Camden Yards.
The Louvre to return looted Tiepolo painting
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - France's greatest art museum, the Louvre, will return a Nazi-looted painting by the 18th-century Italian artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo to the heirs of its original Jewish owner, a Jewish group said Wednesday. The World Jewish Congress said that it has been informed by museum officials that the Louvre will return the painting to the heirs of Italian Jewish art collector and dealer Gentili di Giuseppe, who have been seeking its return since 1950 when they discovered the painting hanging in the Louvre. In 1941, Tiepolo's ``Alexander and Campaspe at the House of the Painter Apelle'' wound up in the collection of Nazi Field Marshall Hermann Goering as one of thousands of paintings and other artworks that the Germans confiscated from Jewish collectors and dealers, the WJC's executive director Elan Steinberg said. He added that four other paintings by minor artists in the Louvre will also be returned to the family. They are ``The Visitation'' by Moretto da Brescia, ``The Holy Family'' by Bernardo Strozzi, ``Card Players in Front of the Fireplace'' by Alexandre Magnasco and ``Portrait of a Woman'' by Rosalba Carriera. All the works were painted from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Steinberg said he believed this was the first time since the WJC started a campaign for the return of Nazi-looted art in French museums two years ago that the Louvre has agreed to give back a looted work. After World War II, the Allies recovered and brought back to France about 61,000 looted works of art of which 45,000 were returned to their rightful owners. Another 14,000 were sold by the French government at auction and about 2,000 were placed in French museums in what the French called ``temporary custody.'' These included works by such painters as Cezanne and Picasso. Steinberg said that the Louvre has 744 disputed art works and added, ``It is a shame that it has taken a half century for this temporary custodianship to end. We look forward to more rapid restitution.''
Reuters/Variety
U.S. to Fight Smuggling of Nicaraguan Treasures
Reuters, 16-JUN-99
MANAGUA, June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador Lino Gutierrez signed an agreement with Nicaragua on Wednesday to curb the smuggling of pre-Columbian artifacts in an effort to protect the Central American nation's archaeological heritage. Under the agreement, pre-Hispanic archaeological goods imported to the United States from Nicaragua must have permits from the Nicaraguan government specifying their transport for purposes of scientific study or temporary exhibit in the United States. The United States has similar agreements with El Salvador and Guatemala. The U.S. government will issue a register of archaeological goods subject to protection in accordance with Nicaraguan law, to be distributed to customs agents and the public. Both countries are signatories to a 1970 UNESCO convention for the prohibition of illegal import and export of cultural goods. Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited.All rights reserved.
Michelangelo Crucifix Return Home
FLORENCE, Italy (AP) - A wood crucifix made by Michelangelo when he was 18 will be returned to the church it was created for, news reports said Monday. The 531/2-inch multicolored crucifix was thought to be long lost before it surfaced in 1962. At that time, it was restored and put in Florence's Casa Buonarrotti Museum. Michelangelo created the crucifix in 1493 for the Basilica di Santo Spirito, where it will be moved back before the end of the year, Italian news reports said. The church is installing adequate security measures to protect the treasure.
Thieves Return Sacred Mohammed Relic
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - Thieves stole a sacred relic of the Prophet Mohammed - a single beard hair - from a 16th century mosque in Istanbul before returning it later, Turkish media reported Tuesday. The glass case containing the hair was stolen Monday from the Gazi Ahmet Pasa Mosque while the imam, or religious leader, was preparing for noon prayers, the Star newspaper said. It was returned hours later, left outside the mosque. The hair was donated to the mosque in 1571, about the same time that several other relics of Mohammed were brought to Istanbul for safekeeping by the Ottoman sultans, who were regarded as the leaders of the Islamic world. Several other beard hairs, a footprint of the prophet and part of his cloak are on display in Istanbul's Topkapi palace, the former seat of the Ottoman Empire. They are of great symbolic value to Muslims because they are among very few relics believed to be left. Islam's Prophet Mohammed died in 632.
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