Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-07-05

hSudlly -.-A
value so that the dealers were kept
busy lodging spurious works oil art
For awhile the entire trade was
thrown into a panic. n 1t was al
most impossible to dispose Oh d
genuine as no American collector
or art dealer was willing to take
a chance.
Old Families Deceived
To make the situation worse II
was found that paintings winch were
sent over here by some OF the most
distinguished families of Europe
were fakes. Most of these had been
in the possession of a single tamlly
for generations and had been as
signed by tradition to great artists
Their authenticity was so taken LOT
granted that they hsd propaply
never been submitted to experts. But
when thew came to be examined over
here it was discovered that many
supposed Rembrandts, Velasquezes
| and Titians were merely early copies
! of those painters or works by con-
temporaries which had been moor
rectly attributed to the great art
lists. ,
While this heavy bombardment OF
fakes was going on, American deal
ers were over in Europe attending
auction sales and quietly buying up
some of the worlds greatest art
treasures. They had to pay enorm-
Gus prices, it is true. but they PAID
them for the real thing.
your American collectors nave
learned" remarked a prominent
member of a British art society, re-
Gently. They are now very astute
collectors, who know precisely what
.I.a,, ,o-+ n ND oan offnrd tn nav fbe
price. They are vastly different
from those who used to come to buy
our pictures, just to decorate the
blank spaces on their walls"
In fact, American collectors and
art dealers have become so very eau
tious that they will sacrifice real
art treasures before they will take
a chance on them. One New York
art dealer. for example. will! tell
you with tears in his eyes of an OPP
portunity he missed of securing a
genuine Reubens in London not long
ago. 1t was one of several old mas
tiers discovered by a British rector
in an old unused room in his rec
tory. The rector, according to the
story, had come upon this remark
able room through an ancient slid
ing panel, which accidentally yield
eQ 10 Ills louCtl, ItNSdIiiS %
dingy room which he had never
suspected was a part of his home.
Entering the room somewhat gin
gerly, he had found the paintings,
which British art critics declared to
be genuine. One of them was a four
oak PLAGUE, covered with years of
dust, which when brushed off, re-
vealed-a perfect example of Reubens
at his greatest period.
at was a good story" said the
dealer dryly. "but L had heard
plenty like it before. Nevertheless
this particular /one happened to be
true, and if I'd believed 1t I'd have
secured a great bargain. That
PLAGUE is worth $4,000 now.
you know, that's wha' makes our
business so fascinating" he went on
ruminatively, the chance in a hun
bred that We'll get hold of some
thing genuine for little or nothing.
Such things a and do happen even
nowadays. A real Gilbert Stuart
has come suddenly to light in the
past month, and l have a friend who
recently bought what he thought
was a Gezanne copy for a small sum
only later to discover that it was a
valuable original. Among all the
fakes spread out like s. man traps
in Europe there's apt to be n that
is worth a mint of money. That's
why so many of us are practically
European commuters now. If we
find one old master in a life time,
it's enough to make or double our
fortune.
Take The Red Cap'. n of the
most important pictures in the Prick
collection" he said. THAT picture
was peddled through the streets of
London about ten years ago by some
unknown tramp, who carried 1T I'M
der his arm. wrapped in news
paper. He asked SO pounds for it
and was laughed at. Finally, Sir
Hugh Lane discovered it in a dingy
London auction room. took it home
and cleaned it. and found it was a
Titan. The late Mr.. Frick bought
it from him at a stiff price.
But OF course this sort of thing
doesn't happen so often a S it used
to. If we Americans know what
we're buying when we trade with
Europe now, the collectors over
there are also equally aware of the
value of the goods they're selling
us. They may howl about our go
ing off with their historic master
pieces. but, believe me. we pay for
them."