Index
| Summary |
. |
| Section 1 |
Introduction |
| Section 2 |
Anthony Denney - Vogue Photographer-
Interior Designer -Collector |
| Section 3 |
Sudden Death of Anthony Denney
on 30 April 1990 |
| Section 4 |
What happened after Anthony Denney's
death |
| Section 5 |
The Donation - why was there
a need to "move as quickly as possible"? |
| Section 6 |
Does Spanish or English Law apply
to Denney's estate? |
| Section 7 |
Denney's Spanish will is used to
obtain a declaration of inheritance... |
| Section8 |
The Denney Children are sent the
will with an explanatory letter...20 Sept. 1990 |
| Section 9 |
The action moves to Toulouse |
| Section 10 |
The defective, but "self improving"Act
of Donation to the City of Toulouse |
| Section 11 |
The City of Toulouse is not in
any way involved.. |
| Section 12 |
Discussion - What lessons can be
learnt from the Denney Case? |
| Section13 |
Conclusions |
| Appendix |
A brief background on Modern Art
in Toulouse |
| The Collection |
A Selection of items from the Denney
Collection |
| The Author |
Antony Anderson |
Anthony
Denney the well-known photographer and interior designer built up a
large collection of modern art during the 1950’sand
1960’s. A significant part of the collection - worth several million pounds
- was lent to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1970. Following Denney’s sudden
death in Spain in April 1990, 23 pictures were removed from Dallas to France
by means of letters signed "Anthony Denney".
The pictures were hidden, along with others from the collection, and were
subsequently transformed into an apparently bona-fide donation to the City
of Toulouse, thereby stripping the Denney estate of most of its movable
assets. The case suggests that long term loans to reputable institutions
may be less safe than we might suppose and that something needs to be done
to increase security and prevent art loans from similar attacks in the
future. It highlights the professional responsibility of Museums to establish
conclusive proof of ownership before donations are accepted and of never
taking sides in a dispute over inheritance. Lending to a Museum places
the loan in the public domain. Open access to informationabout all loans
provide the best protection for them. A distributed public register of
loan collections accessible via the Internet - DenneyNet
- might provide a cheap and practical means of improving security and would
be a fitting way to remember a gifted designer and photographer and the
recambolesque story of his art collection.
