Watercolours that are not for sale (long)
John-Henry Collinson
been approached by one of our clients who has twenty or more
watercolours that this client has no intention, at all, of selling.
These are the bare bones of the story as I understand it. Cynics beware;
it is in it's way rather romantic. Certainly elements of it have been
romanticised.
In 1915 the Scots water-colourist M., in a scene redolent of 'The
Barretts of Wimpole Street', was forbidden the house by the father of a
girl he was seeing. He was allowed to give her a painting entitled Monks
Wood (part of Epping Forest?) which contained a not very secret message;
carved on one of the tree's were their initials and the date. This is
one of the paintings in the collection.
He had been commissioned by the French Government to paint some
watercolours of Tahiti. He and the girl (whom we shall call D.) ran away
together, first of all to the Savoy Hotel and from thence to Tahiti.
They stayed there together while he completed his commission. He wanted
to return home and marry her, she did not as she felt him to be too
boring and respectable. I think that having kicked off the traces she
was not eager to put them back on. She continued travelling the world,
working as a nanny, a governess and a horse breaker (she was a farm
girl) finally returning home three years later.
The story now becomes muddy; D. either stormed off after a furious row
stealing one of his sketchbooks as she went or they parted amicably and
he gave her the sketchbook. Whatever happened D. obtained the sketchbook
and the painting in it (which were not, for the most part, sketches but
complete paintings) The contents of this book were framed in the 1950s.
The subject matter of the watercolours was very personal to the pair of
them. The house they lived in, the boat they sailed around the islands
in, a flower he gave her etc.
A number of problems arise; firstly who do the paintings belong to?
Especially if she was not given them but stole them? Also there is a
tradition in her family that the Government commission had implied that
all painting undertaken while in the Islands became the property of the
French Government.
Both the protagonist in this fairy tale are dead now. The paintings are
now in the possession of one of D.'s immediate family. The water colours
in question are not 'important' to the history or art. They are very
good but not of the first value. Most of them are unsigned (although
very recognisable). The artist's paintings sell quite well but only if
they are signed British views. Ten years ago an appraiser reckoned they
would sell for an average price of 200pounds Stirling each in Auction.
Our client does not want to sell them but keep them as a unique piece of
family history. Our client also would like to make them available for
others to look at and study. (The artist in question has been the
subject of dissertations in the past). How does she go about this. Who
does one tell if you want to say 'we have these paintings do you want to
exhibit them?'. Our client is also paranoid of burglars and does not
want to signal that she has them on the walls of her home. I repeat that
these paintings are very good but not great and it may be that their is
not interest in them; there are after all a lot of water colours in the
world.
I have not mentioned the full name of the Artist in question because a
number of search engines look at Usenet postings. Until our client
decides what to do I have to be circumspect. There are enough clues for
those who know to find out who I am talking about; he is not a household
name. The appraiser however recognised them without a second thought or
searching for one with a signature. (He has since been in contact with
our client in an attempt to get her to sell.)
Any suggestions?
1. who owns the paintings. (we are dealing with British, French and
Tahiti law here.) Or rather how does one find out who owns the paintings
without losing them?
2. how does one make minor works of art -and the biographical details
surrounding them, available for researchers etc.
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Tsu Dho Nimh
>Our client does not want to sell them but keep them as a unique piece of
>family history. Our client also would like to make them available for
>others to look at and study. (The artist in question has been the
>subject of dissertations in the past). How does she go about this. Who
>does one tell if you want to say 'we have these paintings do you want to
>exhibit them?'. Our client is also paranoid of burglars and does not
>want to signal that she has them on the walls of her home. I repeat that
>these paintings are very good but not great and it may be that their is
>not interest in them; there are after all a lot of water colours in the
>world.
>1. who owns the paintings. (we are dealing with British, French and
>Tahiti law here.) Or rather how does one find out who owns the paintings
>without losing them?
Finding out WITHOUT losing them to the French Government ...
first of all, find the orignal commission terms and see if the
artist actually fulfilled it.
If it was theft, the heirs of the artist might have a claim,
but the only people who know what happened are dead ... so it's a
gift unless they can produce evidence of theft.
>2. how does one make minor works of art -and the biographical details
>surrounding them, available for researchers etc.
A high-resolution digital scan of the watercolor, on a CDROM
for purchase or available for download from a website, would do.
Tsu Dho Nimh
The neat thing about free speech, practiced properly, is that *everyone*
gets to do it.