11/17/1999
The Art Loss Register is the
largest, private computerized image database of stolen works of art, antiques
and valuables in the world. The company
aims to identify and recover stolen works of art, provide a central
“checkpoint” to prospective purchasers and lenders, deter art theft and reduce
the trade in stolen art. The ALR, with
offices in London and New York, has assisted police forces worldwide in the
recovery of over $100 million of stolen art.
The Cézanne painting “Bouilloire
et Fruits” was stolen from the Bakwin Family in 1978. It remained missing, without trace until December 1998, when the
Art Loss Register was contacted and made aware of the painting’s existence. Keeping the U.S. and overseas police forces
fully informed, the Art Loss Register safely recovered the painting on behalf
of the owner in October, 1999.
A spokesman for the Bakwin family
said, “After twenty years the family had given up all hope of this picture
being returned. They are very grateful
to all those and particularly the Art Loss Register who achieved the recovery.”
The insurance industry, art trade
and police rely on the Art Loss Register’s database. Once reported, stolen items are entered and searched for against
sales by auction houses and art dealers and against inquiries from police and
customs agencies from around the world.
In terms of both value and years
before recovery, this is one of the Art Loss Register’s most significant cases. Last year the ALR identified a Monet
“Waterlilies” in the French National Collection as having been looted during
World War II and not restituted after the War.
The Monet is valued at approximately $6 million dollars and will shortly
be returned to the owner’s heirs. The
ALR has also identified and assisted in the recovery of works by Rubens, Manet,
Picasso, and many other old masters and modern artists.
Contact:
Julian
Radcliffe Ronald
Tauber
London
Office New York
Office
12
Grosvenor Place 666 Fifth
Avenue, 21st Floor
London
SW1X 7HH New York, NY 10103
Tel: 011 44 171 235 3393 Tel: 212 262 4831
Fax: 011 44 171 235 1652 Fax: 212 262 4838
Email:artloss@artloss.com Email:alrnewyork@aolcom
sotheby’s
founded 1744
_______________________________
News Release
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Contact:
212 606 7176
fax: 212 606 7381
CEZANNE STILL LIFE FROM IMPORTANT COLLECTION TO BE
SOLD AT SOTHEBY’S IN LONDON ON DECEMBER 7
London,
November 17, 1999 -- Sotheby’s London will auction Paul Cézanne’s
still-life Bouilloire
et fruits (Pewter pitcher and fruit) in its major sale of Impressionist and
Modern Art on the evening of Tuesday, December 7, 1999, it was announced
today. The painting, which came from
the collection of Dr. and Mrs. Harry Bakwin, is estimated at £9-l2 million ($15-20 million).
Bouilloire et fruits from
1888-90, was executed at the peak of Cézanne’s career, when he was engaged with
the sophisticated investigations of form and space that are a feature of his
mature style. The painting shows an
arrangement of colourful apples, oranges and a lemon, placed next to a pewter
pitcher and resting on a table which is covered with a white cloth. This cloth,
with its gentle modulations and subtle inflections of colour, unifies all the
elements of the still-life. Bouilloire et
fruits illustrates perfectly Cézanne’s importance as a source for Cubism
and the development of Modern art in the 20th century.
Bouilloire et fruits was stolen from a
member of the Bakwin family in l978 and was recovered in l999 by the Art Loss
Register, the internationally recognised central database for stolen and
missing art and antiques (see attachment).
Melanie
Clore, Deputy Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe and head of Sotheby’s Impressionist
and Modern Art department in London, said: “We are very excited to be offering
this superb still life at auction. Painted at the height of Cézanne’s mature
powers as an artist, this work is an outstanding example of the still-life
genre at which he excelled. Its recovery is great news for the art world.”
Michel
Strauss, Co-Chairman of Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art department,
said: “It was one of the most exciting days of my 38 years at Sotheby’s when I
first saw this rich and sumptuous still-life immediately after its recent
recovery, still in its fine and original condition. What makes this painting so
special is the dramatic way in which Cézanne has painted the
brilliantly-coloured apples and oranges, nestling in the luminous folds of the
tablecloth.”
It will be the third time in 18 months that
Sotheby’s have offered a work of supreme quality by a modern master in
London. In June 1998, Monet’s Japanese Bridge realised £19.8 million,
and in June this year, Degas’s Danseuse
en Repos was sold for £17.6 million, both new world records.
The
painting is one of the highlights in Sotheby’s London sale of Impressionist and
Modern Art in December, which includes two important works by Van Gogh, one of
them, a marvellously calligraphic drawing from 1889 which has recently been
subject of a restitution ruling. Twenty
five works by Picasso from the Collection of Gianni Versace will also be
included in the auction that evening. Prior to its sale on the evening of
December 7 at 7.00pm, the Cézanne will be on public exhibition as follows:
·
Sotheby’s Paris on Monday and Tuesday November 22-23
·
Sotheby’s London from November 30 to December 7
For
further Press information please contact:
Christopher
Proudlove or Alfonso Icaza in London
Tel: 0171
293 5170 / Fax: 0171 293 5947
Diana
Phillips or Matthew Weigman in New York
Tel: 212
606 7176 / Fax 212 606 7381
Sotheby’s website: http://www.sothebys.com