The New York herald., 1922-01-08
The KeIekian Collection
At Public Auction

The sale of the Kelekian collection,
now announced by the American Art
Association. is sure to make great stir.
1t is not only one of the most distin-
guished collections of French art ever
brought to this country but it happens
to include great many works by mas
ters who are acknowledged in Europe
both by the critics apd by the auction
market but who are not yet appreciated
at their full measure upon this side Of
the water
1t is sufficient to indicate that there
are eight important works by Henri Ma
tisse. seven By Picasso, fifteen by Renoir,
four by Seurat. four by Toulouse-Lautrec.
two by Van Gogh. three by Utrillo. two
by Ingres, seventeen by Derain, ten by
Degas, ten by Arthur B. Davies, and
seven by Cezanne, to show that this will
be no ordinary sale. AS n matter OF
fact, it will be an epoch making event.
Many of these masters have been con-
demned unseen by Americans who have
been misled by the bigoted and ignoran..
In the Kelekian collection the debated
men may be seen at their best and the
reason for their great regulations abroad
made plain. AS IL the sale of the ultra
modern works were not enough of a sem
sation in ITSELF the Renoirs. the Manets.
Monet, Whistler Corots. Cassatts. Millet
and Puvis de Chavannes add distinction
to the formidable list
Seymour de Picci. who has made a
special study Of the collection. has this
to say of DikraE Kelekian, who assem-
bled these picturec:
"Mr. Dikran Kelelsian is so we'll known
to all European and American connois-
seurs that 1t would seem superfuous to
presume to introduce him. His warm
and sympathet personality is. however.
so strongly impressed on and expressed
by his whole collection that | cannot
refrain from a few words on the unique
character of this art sale.
"a native OF Persia he has all his life
lived among the antiquities of the nearer
East. He has, as everybody knows.
successfully dealt in Egyptian. Assyrian,
Chinese and Sassanide art. Greek. Ro-
man and Byzantine objects have always
crowded his cases. or late years his at
tention has been extended to the Middle
Ages. and many beautiful Gothic and
Renaissance pieces have passed through
his hands. Is II not, for casual OBJ
server. somewhat surprising that modern
art-yea. the most modern Of modern
art--should 80 strongly have attracted
his attention? The reason Is that the
whole OF Mr.. kelekian's training as q
collector and a dealer has been directed
toward a keen appreciation OF the con-
tinuity of artistic tradition. We no
longer believe to-day in the time honored
division Of ancient art into q certain
number of watertight compartments.
I'VE know nowadays--and 1t is one OF
the greatest conquests of modern science
that the whole artistic tradition, from
the paleollthic age to the present day.
Is one continuous tangled skein OF many
colored threads. To single out from this
skein any one thread of tradition re-
quires a tremendously keen artistic I'm
tuition such as can only be acquired by
long years familiarity with works of art
of every age and description. Books
cannot teach II and many hours spent
In libraries and museums are often OF
little avail. In the few Instances I can
think OF II Is a born feeling for quality.
an innate love OF beauty, a second sense
for the finer and less visible trails Of
tradition. Few collectors. fewer mu-
scum directors, ever acquire that sense.
and IL Is great pity. inasmuch a. some
thing Will always be lacking from their
houses and their galleries.
zone of the greatest of all French
amateurs, Monsieur Jacques Doucet.
knew well what he was doing when he
hung ON his walls a still life by Manet
between two paintings by Chardin and
when he interminglcd in his rooms the
dainty products OF French eighteenth
century art and the archaic splendors
OF early Persian and Chinese ware. II
Mr.. Kelekian had not been intimately
familiar with the glories OF the East and
.hc magnihccnce OF Byzantium and Ra-
VIENNA he never would have succeeded
in selecting from the French art Of