Page 24 - Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione - Visions and Ecstasy

The owner’s attorney approached me largely on the basis of my record with

past exhibitions.The vendor wished to remain anonymous and after weeks of

legal exchanges the closing was arranged on ‘neutral territory’.This was to

be a bank in Geneva where the painting had been lodged and I will never forget

the almost Groucho Marxian scenes with the vendors on one floor of the bank

in offices, the picture housed in a room on the floor below and the acquiring

representatives lodged a floor below that. As the agent for the vendor and

intermediary, a fact I took care to emphasise to Basia, I had to fly from floor

to floor until I had signatures on all the paperwork.The commission from this

deal saved the day and repaid the bank.

Of equal importance was a coup that followed close on the heels of the

Gentile da Fabriano in March 1987 and which is a tale tinged with

misfortune but ultimate success. I received a call from a very small dealer

on the Continent with whom I had good relations but who specialised in

Fig. 15. the nineteenth century (alas he is now dead). On a crackling telephone line
I was asked whether I would be interested in a ‘Sánchez Cotán’. (Fig.15)

This seemed so improbable that I barely gave it credence, yet I was intrigued. Fortunately, the very next day,

I took a plane and was shown the painting in a warehouse. The story was that it had belonged to a framer who

had died.The vendors wanted a low six figure sum in dollars. For me this was still a great deal of money to

risk and though the painting seemed period the artist was so rare there was little to compare it with even

though the painting was apparently signed. I was given 24 hours to decide. I returned to London and contacted

Bill Jordan and sent him by DHL the snapshots I had taken. However, time was of the essence so I told the

vendors I would pay double their asking price if they gave me an extension of 48 hours. When Bill later

confirmed that he thought the painting autograph I closed the deal.

Sometime later, with the painting in London, I had a visit from the late Ted Pillsbury, the great acquisitive
director at the Kimbell whom I had known since Courtauld days.Ted was thrilled with the painting which was
an immense rarity and promptly proposed to acquire it for a sum that I believe was close to £1,250,000.
Triumphant I applied for an export licence.A fortnight passed and in the interim the painting had been referred
to the ‘advisor’ at the National Gallery. I then subsequently received a phone call to the effect that since the
National Gallery had few Spanish still lifes, other than the Melendez I had sold them, would I be prepared to
send them the picture so that they could do technical analysis and X-rays for their database? Of course I agreed.

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