Part 16 (1/2)

Harold Sack's remark that ”money is honey” appeared in ”Rewriting Auction Records,” New York Times New York Times, January 25, 1990. The art dealer who observed that some buyers wanted to spend $1 million was Arnold Glimcher. See Calvin Tomkins, ”Irises,” The New Yorker The New Yorker, April 4, 1988.

S. N. Behrman noted in his brilliantly witty Duveen Duveen (New York: Random House, 1951, p. 293) that Joseph Duveen's clients ”preferred to pay huge sums.” (New York: Random House, 1951, p. 293) that Joseph Duveen's clients ”preferred to pay huge sums.”

John Walker was quoted on ”the cost per square inch” of Ginevra Benci; Ginevra Benci; see William Grampp, see William Grampp, Pricing the Priceless Pricing the Priceless (New York: Basic Books, 1989, p. 25). (New York: Basic Books, 1989, p. 25).

Christopher Burge was quoted on ”a whole new set of prices” in ”The Specter of the Billion Dollar Show,” Was.h.i.+ngton Post Was.h.i.+ngton Post, June 9, 1988.

The story about Renoir trading a painting for a pair of shoes appears in Ambroise Vollard, Renoir: An Intimate Record Renoir: An Intimate Record (New York: Dover, 1990, p. 50). Vollard was an art dealer and collector who wrote biographies of Renoir, Cezanne, and Degas. Renoir's (New York: Dover, 1990, p. 50). Vollard was an art dealer and collector who wrote biographies of Renoir, Cezanne, and Degas. Renoir's Portrait of Ambroise Vollard Portrait of Ambroise Vollard is at the Courtauld in London. is at the Courtauld in London.

The New York Times New York Times writer who compared the prices of Impressionist paintings to those of Boeing 757s was Peter Pa.s.sell. See ”Vincent Van Gogh, Meet Adam Smith,” writer who compared the prices of Impressionist paintings to those of Boeing 757s was Peter Pa.s.sell. See ”Vincent Van Gogh, Meet Adam Smith,” New York Times New York Times, February 4, 1990.

Pepe Karmel called Boy with a Pipe Boy with a Pipe ”a pleasant, minor painting,” and said he was ”stunned” that it ”could command a price appropriate to a real masterpiece by Pica.s.so. This just shows how much the marketplace is divorced from the true values of art.” See ”A Record Pica.s.so and the Hype Price of Status Objects,” ”a pleasant, minor painting,” and said he was ”stunned” that it ”could command a price appropriate to a real masterpiece by Pica.s.so. This just shows how much the marketplace is divorced from the true values of art.” See ”A Record Pica.s.so and the Hype Price of Status Objects,” Was.h.i.+ngton Post Was.h.i.+ngton Post, May 7, 2004.

Chapter 19: Dr. No Dr. No.

Bernard Berenson's remark about ”a p.a.w.nbroker's shop for Croesus” comes from Philipp Blom, To Have and to Hold: An Intimate History of Collectors and Collecting To Have and to Hold: An Intimate History of Collectors and Collecting (Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press, 2003, p. 127). (Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press, 2003, p. 127).

The Hearst anecdote is from W A. Swanberg, Citizen Hearst Citizen Hearst (New York: Scribners, 1961, p. 465). (New York: Scribners, 1961, p. 465).

J. Paul Getty's diary entry is from Werner Muensterberger, Collecting: An Unruly Pa.s.sion Collecting: An Unruly Pa.s.sion (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994, p. 142). (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994, p. 142).

Robert Hughes discussed ”how frenzied the world would be if there were only one copy of each book in the world” in ”Sold!” Time Time, November 27, 1989.

Richard Feigen commented that ”masterpieces evaporate” in ”Getty Closing in on Acquiring Last Raphael in Private Hands,” by Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times, October 31, 2002.

The argument that ”art was priceless” was S. N. Behrman's formulation of Duveen's sales pitch. See Duveen Duveen, p. 292.

For a fuller discussion of ”the complex interplay between art and owners.h.i.+p,” including insights on the distinction between works of art that belong to everybody versus those that one person can own, see ”When Thieves Steal Art, They Steal from All of Us” by Sid Smith, Chicago Tribune Chicago Tribune, December 22, 2002.

Robert Hisc.o.x talked about art thieves on a BBC radio program called ”Stealing Beauty,” broadcast on July 8, 2001.

The anecdote about Marshall d'Estrees is from Pierre Cabanne, Great Collectors Great Collectors (New York: Farrar, Straus, 1961, p. ix). This cla.s.sic account of collectors and their obsessiveness is so comprehensive that it threatens to become an example of the mania that it explores. (New York: Farrar, Straus, 1961, p. ix). This cla.s.sic account of collectors and their obsessiveness is so comprehensive that it threatens to become an example of the mania that it explores.

The specific examples Adam Smith had in mind were gold, silver, and diamonds, whose ”princ.i.p.al merit... arises from their beauty” rather than their utility; the same could surely be said of art. Colin Piatt quotes the pa.s.sage from Smith and draws on it for the t.i.tle of his excellent history of art and art buying, Marks of Opulence Marks of Opulence (London: HarperCollins, 2004). Smith's remarks are from (London: HarperCollins, 2004). Smith's remarks are from Wealth of Nations Wealth of Nations, Vol. 1, Chapter 11.

Macintyre's remark appears in a stimulating essay called ”For Your Eyes Only: The Art of the Obsessive,” Times Times (London), July 13, 2002. (London), July 13, 2002.

Chapter 20: ”This Is Peter Brewgal” ”This Is Peter Brewgal”

The Chicago Tribune Chicago Tribune characterized art thieves as a ”cultured coterie of malefactors;” see ”When Thieves Steal Art, They Steal from All of Us,” December 22, 2002. characterized art thieves as a ”cultured coterie of malefactors;” see ”When Thieves Steal Art, They Steal from All of Us,” December 22, 2002.

The first and by far the best account of the Courtauld theft was ”The Case of the Stolen 'Christ' ”by Henry Porter, in the Evening Standard Magazine Evening Standard Magazine, October 1991. The direct quotations in the account in the text are from Porter's article and from my interviews with Dennis Farr.

Chapter 21: Mona Lisa Smile Smile.

Allen Gore's claim that Idi Amin collected stolen art appeared in Judith Hennessee's ”Why Great Art Always Will Be Stolen (and Seldom Found),” Connoisseur Connoisseur, July 1990.

The best biography of Georgiana is Amanda Foreman's Georgiana: d.u.c.h.ess of Devons.h.i.+re Georgiana: d.u.c.h.ess of Devons.h.i.+re (New York: Random House, 1999). (New York: Random House, 1999).

Chapter 23: Crook or Clown? Crook or Clown?.

Enger joked that he was better at crime than at soccer in an interview that appeared in Keith Alexander's BBC doc.u.mentary ”The Theft of the Century.”

Chapter 31: A Stranger A Stranger.

Johnsen remarked that Charley Hill looked ”too elegant” to be a policeman in an interview in the BBC doc.u.mentary ”The Theft of the Century.”

Chapter 34: The Thrill of the Hunt The Thrill of the Hunt.

Peter Scott described the ”s.e.xual, antisocial excitement” of crime in his memoir Gentleman Thief: Recollections of a Cat Burglar Gentleman Thief: Recollections of a Cat Burglar (London: HarperCollins, 1995, p. 4). (London: HarperCollins, 1995, p. 4).