The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-01-10
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HAsKIN, Director.
Washington. D. c.
TAKING EUROPE's ART AWAY
FROM HER.

ing has at last arrived. The door to
the vault of Europe's art treasures,
which held its own for SO long a time
| against the steady attacks of Ameri-
can art connoisseurs and collectors, is 1
| now open for all who care to buy.
| One by one, or occasionally dozen by
dozen, Europe IS parting with its great
paintings, its rare manuscripts, its
most highly priced and priced precious
| stones and even its historic furniture
mot because it loves them less, but
because it loves food and clothing
more.
No man can enjoy luxury while he
is hungry, and 50. in spite of fearful
tremonstrances on the part of European
art lovers, in spite of the rawlings and
| indignant governments. the owners of
| some of the most remarkable art coll
lections abroad are sadly putting them
up for auction. They have one con-
/ ISOLATION. The prices now being
offered by American collectors are
from three to six times as great as
those offered in 1919.
A few weeks ago, for instance the
greatest one-day book sale ever held
occurred in London when the Britwell
Court library, comprising the greatest
private collection of books in Great
Britain, and famous all over the world,
was ailctioned off. Before the bidding
took place, a New York collector an
|
the entire collection for his American
millionaire client at the price of one
million dollars, but this was haughtily
refused by the agent.
Nothing daunted, however, the New
YORK collector attended the sale, de-
termined to secure the special books
| desired by his client. At this he sue
ceeded. altho the British Museum was
anxious to obtain the sa me books and
| n 81,
price OF $4,000. he bought COPY of
| the earliest edition of Shakespeare |
| venus and Adonis," printed in 1899, a
little book two inches by three and
bound in its original tattered vellum.
He also bought for $4,000 a Caxton
/ translation of Dictes or Sayings of the
philosophers, dated 1477; for $4,000
third impression of Shakespeare
seven unpublished plays, and for Sill
| 600 first edition of Much Ado
About Nothing"
| At about the same time Il was
learned that an American senator had
just secured his twenty-third Corot in
| Paris for a price known to be in six
! figures, and that an American in
| Vienna had just offered 100000 for a
| famous Austrian jewel.
The art treasures of Germany and
Austria Hungary, particularly, are
now at the financial mercy of foreign
| bargain hunters. The central pow
ers are ,overrun with art collectors, os-
| tensibly from Holland and Scandi-
many cases. American and English
| buyers. Naturally, Germans do not
| enjoy turning over their most valu-
able possessions to their principal
and scandinavian Intermediates are
| usually necessary. A collection of
prints by Albert Durer, who has be-
come one of the big speculative art
stocks" recently brought nearly one
| million marks at auction. and 1t is
strongly suspected that these prints
are destined for certain private gal
lery on Fifth avenue.
| It is now rumored with interesting
persistency. that the Austrian govern
ment is about to offer its works of art
| for large loan. at which news Amer
| lean dealers have at once departed for
Austria to join the mob of collectors
already there, securing the fields for
| valuable paintings and tempting art
| loving but impoverished Vienna with
| brigth, new, war-made money.
| America is the art ogre Of the
world at the present time" declared
a well-known British art connoisseur
| the other day, in complaining of the
way in which American collectors are
carrying off Europe's masterpieces.
You really can't blame Americans
| for wanting our great works of art or
| for taking them when they are the
| only persons who can pay the price
| for such things when they are placed
| on sale, but at the same time it is
most regrettable-most regretable in
| deed, you know-from our standpoint.
| Really, il it keeps up, it will only be
matter of time before we must go to
America to see some of our finest art
| treasures
A more emphatic protest was re-
! Gently registered in the British parlia-
| ment, where 1T was proposed to put
a high export duty on works of art,
| which would not only discourage the
sale of them. but provide a revenue,
with which they might be bought by
| the government
Similar bellows Of rage and disgust
have also issued from German official
| headquarters. where much discussion
has taken place concerning prompt
and efficacious measures of keeping |
| Germany safe for German art proper
| ty. In order to educate the people to |
| the necessity of such measures, and
| also perhaps to make use of its art
| treasures before they have been COB |
4 bled up by foreigners, the municipal |
ity of Berlin, not long ago. arranged
for a travelling exhibition OF paintings
| belonging to the city, which formerly |
| mental offices. The exhibit includes
| sixty-five paintings. chosen without
| regard to propaganda or politics, but |
for their art value alone. which are
" ne al dDOul the pTOiS-
tartan districts of Berlin, thus carry
ing art to the factories, the homes of
the working people, and to the
| schools
I 1t is admitted by those opposed to
| the triumph of American money over
European art that it would not be SO
| bad if Americans had stuck to their
| former method Of paying large prices
for bogus works of art. That was diff
ferent. Then they obtained all the
pleasure of buying great masterpieces
without ipconveniencing Europe at
all.
/ But now" complained a prominent
member of a British art society re-
Gently, they want the real thing.
Your American collectors have
i learned. They are now very astute
collectors, who know precisely what
they want and can afford to pay the