21/08/2001
by Andrew Moore

Sotheby’s, London offered a Still life of tulips by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder with an estimate (unsold) of $ 493,500-705,000, on the 12^th July, 2001. The catalogue stated that the picture’s attribution was "confirmed by Fred G. Meijer, upon first hand inspection." Mr Meijer (according to the Gabrius Data Bank) has consulted various auction houses on 363 lot entries since 1995, mostly Dutch flower still-lifes and scenes of animals such as by the Flemish 17^th century painters Melchior Hondecooter or Jan Fyt. Those seeking out 17^th century Italian painting at the most important Old Master sales in New York and London, will find similar references to the academics. Dr. Erich Schleier, from the Museum of Berlin has 71 entries, Ribera being his specialism and Nicola Spinosa, Soprintendente per i Beni Artistici e Storici di Napoli has 37 entries, renowned as an expert in the Caraviggisti. In September 1999, Tajan, Paris sold a 65 x 87 cm oil on canvas of Tarquin and Lucretia . The painting had traditionally been attributed to Guido Reni. After it was shown to Erich Schleier, the painting was re-attributed to Bernardino Mei (a lesser known Siennese contemporary) and sold for $ 53,690 (€ 60,980) against an estimate of $ 20,130-26,850 (€ 22,870-30,490). Such academic references, though not ensuring the sale of a painting, certainly go a long way in backing up attributions of the auction houses’ most important offerings.

Meijer, along with Marijke de Kinkelder (an expert in Dutch landscapes, at 32 lot entries in the Gabrius data base), works for the RKD, an art history institution set up in the 1930’s in den Haag and funded by the Dutch government: its official name being Stichting tot Exploitatie van het Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie. Mr Meijer, a thin, quiet man sporting a moustache can often be seen doing the rounds at the auction houses prior to the sales, inspecting the paintings on view, pinpointing inaccuracies or offering more defined attributions of cataloguing, which can then be added to the sale amendment’s sheet, viewable immediately before an auction. Such accuracy is a necessity for the big international auction houses, who are obliged by law to seek all possible expertise to fully catalogue a work. The precedent for this legislation was set in the UK in 1988 when the auction house Messenger May Baverstock sold two equine portraits for $ 1,192 (€ 1,360), simply catalogued as "English school". Five months later the same works were sold as an authentic George Stubbs pair of horses at Sotheby’s, London for $ 124,950 (€ 142,870). The original auction house faced court action for a costly misattribution.

As high quality Old Masters become rarer, secondary names are being sought on the market, artists whose biography and characteristics are unfamiliar to the wider art market and thus the premiums required to access this information are high. The RKD, renowned for its Old Master auction data, has records of over 3.5 million art images and charges research fees of $ 59 (€ 68) per hour. Of the 750 letters that their Dutch Old Masters paintings department received in 1998, (with Meijer a head specialist) at least 75% were on questions of attribution. Both Christie’s and Sotheby’s refused to make any comment about their use of this institution or their relationship with the aforementioned academics, who so often are mentioned in their catalogues.

Such is their importance that US collectors and museums are hungry to access this information. The Dutch institution is already in partnership with the Getty Institute as well as the Frick Museum. The latter recently acquired the use of the RKD’s database with 63,000 records charting auction sales from 1616 to 1996. In the UK a more old fashioned system is the Witt library (a misnomer, as it is solely an auction records archive), in the cavernous bowles of the Courtauld Institute of Art, in London. However, the Witt library now faces an uncertain future, with Christie’s planning to move into the same premises at Somerset House, the Strand, London. This then may mark the end of this art market gold-mine for London, which is currently freely accessible to auctioneers, collectors and dealers.