ss NORMANDIE 1935-1942 XI - NORMANDIEs artwork is a world heritage and should not be in the whim of single
The artwork
commissioned for NORMANDIE is a world heritage! A singles whim should not be
allowed to posses and deal with on his personal whims and deal with it as he
wishes. Artwork is what mankinds creativity can achieve. We have to preserve
for our children and grandchildren, it is something to learn from for the
future. But mankind is still a collecting mamal - food, resources, people - as
followers, driven by egoism. `Me´ first person plural, and then for long time
nothing.
by Earl of Cruise
"Birth of Aphrodite / La Naissance d´Aphrodite" by JEAN-THÉODORE DUPAS on auction at SOTHEBY´s on June 6th 2017 - courtsey NEW YORK TIMES
"Birth of Aphrodite / La Naissance d´Aphrodite" - courtesy photography from my book NORMANDIE L´ÉPOPÉE DU `GÉANT DES MERS´
When I am poiting my
index finger, I am so aware that three are pointing back at me! And this is in
genral for all of us the case
"Collectors have allways been fascinated with the NORMANDIE, perhaps because of the miraculous events that led to the survival of its extraordinary art and furnishings," says Jodi Pollack, SOTHEBY´s Co-Worldwide Head of 20th Century Design. But it could be too "Whom the god´s love, they punish!" and the disgracing end of NORMANDIE by carelessness, incompetence and arrogance ... NORMANDIE´s "La Naissance d´Aphrodite" panels will be on wiew June 2nd till 5th 2017 at SOTHEBY´s New York, along with the lots from June 6th important design auction.
Reading about the
coming SOTHEBY´s auction of the Forbes panels of JEAN-THÉODORE DUPAS I got angry. This information had to sink, or I had to sleep some nights over
it, starting research and writing this article. I too did remember the case of
the HEINRICH´s EVANGELIAR (in English, too short and
without real information!). The medieaval duke Heinrich der Löwe, cousin of
emporer Friedrich I. ordererd a magnificant bible from a monastery he once
donated to the monks. This bible was stolen in the end of WWII by an American
soldier - Raubkunst, Beutekunst. This EVANGELIAR did
cost the federal countries of NIEDERSACHSEN,
Bayern and
the BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND via the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (English)
back
then DM 32,5 mio - incliding inflation, etc. today over € 90 mio. But for this
piece of culture can not be named a true value. It is invaluable! On art has no
price tag as in a supermarket. And it should not be - never! Art in each form
is the cultural heritage of a region, a tribe, local people, a nation and with
the nation the people living in. It is representing the spirit and
craftsmanship of the people!
Three sites from the HEINRICH EVANGELIAR / CODEX GUELF - Source: Wikipedia
Art is our cultural memory, which is forming and making mankind.
Stop throw stones. Populous, which are
located in a permanently transparent fragile environment, should be able to
distance themselves from throwing with hard, pointed projection props. I know of the
plunderings by the Nazi´s, and i feel shame for. And it lasted decades to make
things clear and retransfer the artworks, "collected" by the NAZI´s
or the Beutekunst by the Allies, to the original owners or their heirs.
A similar situation
was with NORMANDIE´s artwork. Today it is scattered around the world. Cut to be fitted in some doors of a church, or splitt to be hang in some
homes of some collectors who most not value what they possess, pressed in rooms
to small to show the real beauty - or hidden in nowhereland storage, statues
placed on cemitieries or pressed in a "fast food" feeding room on a certain "cruise
ship".
"The Rape of Europa / L´Enièvement d´Europe" - own collection
"The Rape of Europa / L´Enièvement d´Europe" - courtesy photography from my book NORMANDIE L´ÉPOPÉE DU `GÉANT DES MERS´
The stunning reverse-glass panels are part of the monumental History of
Navigation mural, designed by French artist JEAN-THÉODORE DUPAS, which was
originally installed in the luxury voyageur’s Grand Salon. Depicting part of
the mythological Birth of Aphrodite scene, the eight adjacent panels on offer
are surviving relics of the French vessel’s extravagant Art Deco interiors, and
capture the glamour of this by-gone era. It has been nearly ten years since a
comparable series of panels have appeared at auction. SOTHEBY’s sold a suite of
ten panels from "The Birth of Aphrodite / La Naissance d´Aphrodite" in
December 2009, which established a record price at the time of $512,500.
The case of the NORMANDIE
panels created by JEAN-THÉODORE DUPAS is
such. The huge artwork, when complete don´t even fit in museums - so the Met in
New York. and now stored in a cellar room. Out of sight for the public. A
shame!
"The Chariot of Thetis / Le Char de Thétis" - courtsey scan from my book NORMANDIE L´ÉPOPÉE DU `GÉANT DES MERS´
If you buy art, it is
not yours! Sounds communistic? It is not! Art is belonging to mankind, and the "owner"
is only the lender/charterer for a time period and has to preserve it for the
future. But some need it to pamper their lack of standing ... look I have a
Picasso, I am great.
June 6th 2017 SOTHEBY´s
is auctioning eight DUPAS panels of NORMANDIE of multibillionaires Forbes´ son,
which he got as a wedding gift.
The situation is
bringing back in my mind Peter Sarsted´s song "Where do you go to my lovely" when he
sings "you keep it for fun ... a laughter ... HaHa" ... Forbes could
have shown grandeur by gifting the panels to a museum, best perhaps in France,
because it is French art! This would bring him more than only reputation ... a
prix d´honeur.
And European museums
are not financed private, but by taxes and are open to the public. Not when
they do special exibitions, then you have to pay an entrance fee which is fine
to me, because of the labour behind the scenes.
When NORMANDIE was
confiscated against international law in 1941 and transforming into into a
warship started, all artwork was ripped out of NORMANDIE and stored in
warehouses. After destroying NORMANDIE by sheer incompetence, arrogance and
dead panning carelessness the artwork of NORMANDIE was auctioned off, as if to get
rid of as soon as possible - out of sight, out of mind.
Grand Salon du NORMANDIE - own collection
View fron the Gallerie into the Grand Salon and to the Grand Escale to the Salon Grill
A Brief History of NORMANDIE´s
JEAN-THÉODORE DUPAS Panels
They were
the work of the fashionable French illustrator JEAN-THÉODORE DUPAS. The eight
Forbes panels came from an energetic section at the top of Dupas’s larger
design for "The Birth of Aphrodite / La Naissance d´Aphrodite" They
show the mast of a ship with sails and flags billowing in the sky, along with a
winged angel.
"Very often, you see individual panels that
are strong on their own but don’t form a pictorial," Ms. Jodi Pollack said.
"If you find a background panel
that’s very simple, that’s not this."
NORMANDIE 1939 - courtsey coloured by Daryl LeBlanc
1932 - COMPAGNIE GÉNÉRALE TRANSATLANTIQUE begins construction on NORMANDIE.
It is to become the most beautiful and extravagant ship then in existence, the
epitome of French luxury. THE epitome of liner. The cost of building such a
vessel is enormous and unprecedented at the time with some FF 817mio, then
(1935) some US$ 60 mio.
"NORMANDIE looked like something from another
planet compared to her contemporaries, and rendered every single ocean liner
obsolete overnight. It took decades before anyone even came close to catching
up with this ship, technically and with its thrilling lines ... And they are
still trying."
Tim Ro
|
1934
- JEAN-THÉODORE DUPAS designs four murals executed by JAQUES-CHARLES CHAMPIGNEULLE
with Saint Gobain glass. Their destiny is to grace NORMANDIE´s first-class lounge. Their beauty is
achieved through the verre églomisé technique of gilding the backside of glass
with metal leaf. In this case, the NORMANDIE panels are gilded with gold,
silver, and palladium leaf. The front of the glass is painted in black with
mythological scenes and massive ships.
1935 - The expense of the ship and labor of the artwork is proven well worth
it. The NORMANDIE sails from France for the first time. The ship is everything
the passengers had hoped for and more. Gourmet food, wine, and a lovely
atmosphere make for a one-of-a-kind experience. The floating stage for the
international society.
1939 - In August, after the 139th crossing, two cruises to Rio de Janeiro, NORMANDIE
docks into New York. The once peak of chique turned into a "dead"
ship with a scelleton crew on board.
1941 - The United States seizes the NORMANDIE for use as a troop carrier on
December 24. France had recently fallen under Nazi control, which makes the
return journey impossible for the NORMANDIE.
1942 - The Allies were scrambling to marshal military strength in World War II, and the NORMANDIE
was being turned into a troop ship at Pier 88 in Manhattan. But ignited a pile
of life vests. tipped over and sank in the night.
On February
9, NORMANDIE, already emptied of its glamorous furnishings, decorations and
non-necessities, when life preservers are accidentally out of sheer
carelessness lit on fire by a spark from a worker’s torch. The ship burns
through the night. Water is sprayed in the ship to tame the fire. NORMANDIE
started listing. The amount/weight of water and overnight frozen, capsizes the
great ship.
"No
one knows how many panels survived being pried off the walls. It’s
conceivable that many panels did not survive on account of the fragility. They
were glass. They weren’t recognized as they are today."
|
1946 - After after being raised and then again sitting stagnant at Pier 88 for 18 months, the NORMANDIE is removed and sold for scrap.
The idea of
handing back the hulk, that once had been NORMANDIE, to COMPAGNIE GÉNÉRALE
TRANSATLANTIQUE is just a ridiculous slap in the face of its former rightful
owners.
1976 - "The Chariot of Poseidon / Le Chare de Poseïdon", a portion of
the grand glass mural, is acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
"The Chariot of Poseidon / Le Char de Poseïdon" - courtsey METROPOLITAIN MUSEUM OF ART, New York
"The Chariot of Poseidon / Le Char de Poseïdon" - courtsey scan from my book NORMANDIE L´ÉPOPÉE DU `GÉANT DES MERS´
1981 - Malcolm Forbes bids on some panels from the NORMANDIE. On March 21, he
pays a total of US$ 99,000. LOCATION
UNKNOWN AS OF NOV 2015 - Nick Gray
Since the
1980’s, several other portions of the mural have been sold off to both museums
and individuals. In 1985 was the 50th year of NORMADIE´s inaugural record breaking
voyage in 1935. These panels always go for a hefty amount to those who
appreciate or want to show-off themselves with the preciousness of the artwork,
the fragility and of their dramatic history.
I am well known about
the private financed museums in the United States, as Nick Gray, but I have
strong arguments against these kind ... The billionaires presenting their
collections in these museums still own all the art, and it can happen when
bancrupcy is lurking at the horizon, that these invaluable pieces of art are
scattered around the world in auctions to other private collectors, and they
are gone with the wind ... never to be seen again in public.
In Europe we have a
more ethic and cultured approach. Billionaires who have collected art most
donate them to the public, as Mr. and Mrs. Ludwig in Köln (ologne) had done.
And a vast number of others! They even go for supporting museums to buy art
which is important for our European or the countries´ heritage in an overheated
art market.
The Forbes
Gallery which was located on Fifth Avenue between 12th and 13th St. in
Greenwich Village went dark in November 2014. Then Forbes sold the building to
NYU. Nick Gray want to know and started a research:
"What happend to the FORBES GALLERIES?"
"I enjoyed visiting the GALLERIES to view the FORBES collection of items like the original Monopoly board and the notable Faberge eggs. Most importantly, I loved seeing their collection of NORMANDIE panels." |
|
| Nick Gray |
Although
much of Malcolm Forbes’ collection has been dispersed, the Forbes Galleries
have continued as a jewel-box art space under the leadership of Christopher "Kip”
Forbes, Malcolm’s son. The Forbes Building itself has been sold to NYU with the
last gallery shows closing November 14th 2014. The collection stemmed from
Forbes’ lifelong collection of toys, most of which have since been auctioned
off. Among the museum’s notable exhibits over time included "Olympic
Gold”, a collection of medals and other collectibles from some of the world’s
most accomplished Olympians, a number of Faberge Eggs, an armada of 500 model ships
and 12,000 toy soldiers and one of the original Monopoly boards.
The
historic NORMANDIE panels from the Forbes Family Collection are offered at
SOTHEBY's History of Navigation Mural for NORMANDIE to
highlight June Auction of Important Design. Purchased by Malcolm Forbes in 1981
as a wedding present for his 2nd son Robert.
The eight glass panels from the ocean liner NORMANDIE
that will be auctioned by SOTHEBY’s in June - courtsey Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times
Robert L.
Forbes, 2nd of five sons, had an answer for the question about selling that
rather large and expensive wedding present. "It’s not the sort of thing we
hung in the house," he said, "and for the last couple of years, it had
been in storage. We figured, time to move them to somebody else who I hope will
enjoy them."
Again! Why
not donating to a real museum?
The history
behind the celebrated series of panels is enriched further by the story of
their acquisition. Renowned entrepreneur and publisher, Malcolm S. Forbes,
purchased the eight panels in 1981 as a wedding gift to his son, Robert, just
hours before he walked down the aisle. On the day of Mr. Forbes’s wedding in
1981, his father, the magazine publisher Malcolm S. Forbes, spent$90,000 on eight glass panels from the Grand Salon of the NORMANDIE, the
glittering ocean liner that defined luxury, along with design, size and speed.
The panels went to the Forbeses’ galleries in the headquarters of the family’s
financial magazine, which were also home to their collections - a farm’s worth
of Fabergé eggs, several brigades´ worth of toy soldiers and an armada of 500 model
boats and ships.
Robert
Forbes said his father was "an ocean liner aficionado” from boyhood, when
the family went to Scotland on the Aquitania. So on his wedding day, Mr. Forbes
said, he had an idea that his father might try to buy the panels from the NORMANDIE.
The younger
Mr. Forbes wrote in the SOTHEBY’s auction catalog that another tipoff was the
person his father brought to the wedding reception. "He had Rita Reif in tow, who wrote about auction sales and
antiques in The New York Times," he wrote, "and sure enough, he announced
that he’d just bought the NORMANDIE panels for me as a wedding present."
Along the
way, Ms. Reif wrote an
article about the purchase and the wedding day. And yes, the bridegroom,
now a writer of children’s books, and the bride, Lydia Appel Raurell-Soto, are still married.
But the
Forbes galleries closed in 2014, and now the panels after hidden away in store
are to be sold again, in an auction on June 6th at SOTHEBY’s. Jodi Pollack, a senior vice president and co-worldwide head of 20th-century
design, said she expected the sale price for the panels to be "in the
region of $1 million."
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