New York – Christie’s International Old Masters Department announces the sale consignment of Glaucus and Scylla, a magnificent oil on panel by J.M.W. Turner. To be offered at auction in April 2007 during Christie’s New York Important Old Master Paintings sale, the picture has recently been restituted to the heirs of John and Anna Jaffé by the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. The estimate for the work is $5,000,000-7,000,000.
The Kimbell Art Museum determined the painting had been illegally seized by French pro-Nazi officials during World War II after several months of negotiations with Alain Monteagle, a teacher living in France, and the representative of the heirs of John and Anna Jaffé. During the past two years, Mr. Monteagle has conducted an investigation into the provenance of the Turner and contacted the Kimbell in September 2005 with his research.
Nicholas Hall and Richard Knight, International Directors of Christie’s Old Masters department say, “Reinforcing our position at the forefront of the Old Masters market, Christie’s is delighted to have been entrusted with the sale of this important late historical work by J.M.W. Turner. The picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1841, the same year as La Donna della Salute and San Giorgio, the Turner work we sold in April of this year for $35.9 million in New York. This set a new world auction record for the artist. Our next New York Important Old Master Paintings auction, to be held next April, will provide the perfect stage for Glaucus and Scylla.
We look forward to presenting another important Old Master work on behalf of the Jaffé heirs. Last year in London, we offered four paintings that were restituted to the family, including The Grand Canal, Venice, with the Palazzo Bembo by Francesco Guardi. This exceptional Venetian view was bought by the Getty Museum for $7,605,488.
For the sale of this highly important Turner we will again be working in tandem with our colleagues in the British Pictures department in London and are confident that this global teamwork will produce another outstanding result.”
Mr. Monteagle comments, “I wish to express the gratitude of my family for the Kimbell’s spirit of cooperation and the speed with which the agreement was reached. John and Anna Jaffé were very refined art collectors, and as their heirs, we intend to devote a book and exhibition to their shared life. And we look forward to working with Christie’s once again - not only on the sale, but also on these important projects.”
John Jaffé, a British subject, was a prominent Jewish art collector who resided at the Villa Jaffé in Nice, France with his wife, Anna. Mr. Jaffé had acquired Glaucus and Scylla in 1902 from the Sedelmeyer Gallery in Paris. At the time of his death, the painting was bequeathed to his wife, who in turn bequeathed it to her nephews Gustave Cohen, Paul Gluge and Théophile Gluge, and her niece, Alice Heymann.
