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Um ... no. Grandson.
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After his father's death in 1963 the gallery began to manage Daniel. He drew the Japanese and Middle Eastern clientele, and in 1977 opened in Houston Vildenshtayn Art Center, where all art is for sale - from the Greek antiquities to contemporary American artists. In the 1980's. Vildenshtayny purchased half of Pace Gallery, which is now called the Pace Vildenshtayn.
 
And then there have been a sad event: as a result of numerous grievances with the French bureaucracy, in particular, charges of tax evasion, etc., Daniel Vildenshtayn ceased operation in France and abolished the Paris gallery. Giving him the floor:
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History is fantastic.

My father was very fond of Bonnard, and by the way, this love was mutual. Papa was so fond of him, that he has organized three exhibitions - one in 1934 and two after the war. Incidentally, Pierre Bonnard gave my father a self-portrait, which he wrote, looking at myself in the mirror. I met him here in our house. He looked like an accountant: a thin, bespectacled, shy, with a quiet voice he used very rarely. He seldom showed his emotions, was closed. Unlike Picasso, Vlaminck, or even he was not impressed, was not character. Nevertheless, he has always been my favorite artist. I think Monet and Bonnard among the major artists of the twentieth century. At the time of their period of Nabi Bonnard worked shoulder to shoulder with Vuillard. Which one was better? Sometimes one, sometimes another. And then found Bonnard color. He found it as a time to find a color of Fra Angelico. And suddenly there came into another dimension, leaving everyone far behind ... His color immaterialen. This is the color that you see in a dream, an imaginary color, woven from hundreds of nuances. This color is similar to most Bonnard - there is nothing threatening, it consists of only one of tenderness. This idyllic fireworks, a wonderful symphony, full of human warmth. And it really written. Such a color no one other artist this time. Look at the Fauves - the work they have bright and colorful, that's for sure, but they used pure colors, putting one next to another. Look at the marriage. Yes, and Picasso - you know how I loved it and the artist, and man - did not have a sense of color. However, Bonnard, unlike Picasso, was not a graphic artist. His paintings have little artistic value. Figure he wanted to organize ideas. In Bonnard's all a matter of color.

In short, I am madly in love Bonnard.

He died in 1947 his wife died before him, in 1924, official version of Bonnard's wife was that her name was Marta de Méligny, and she comes from an old and famous Italian family. Within thirty years of living together Bonnard did not suspect that in fact her name was Maria Boursin, and she was the daughter of a carpenter from Bourges. She swore to him that she was an orphan, and that except for him it was no one in the whole wide world. They married rather late, having issued a marriage in community of property regime. While Bonnard was a poor painter, and Martha was not rich - she became his model, as soon as he took up painting.

And in 1942, died in March, Bonnard, who lived at that time in Le Kanne, went to Cannes to his lawyer. It turned out that nothing like Marta de Méligny not left. And it was fraught with troubles. This meant that it would be powered by an administrative procedure that could have turned to Bonnard serious headache: you make tracing possible heirs of Martha - even if, in principle, none should have been - and during this investigation Bonnard workshop will be temporarily sealed. The fact is that while the artists had no moral rights, in particular the right to end of , a work that has been stored in their workshops. That is, he was not the owner of their works. All that was in his studio, should belong entirely to both spouses. Here I talk about this, and you probably think that all this nonsense, but because of this moral right Deren died of despair - the very day of his divorce, he is forbidden to enter his studio. After all, it was a mere formality - do not forget that have Martha had no relatives! ..

After the death of the artist himself, logically, his property was to be divided among his heirs in a straight line. In the studio he was left with about seven hundred canvases and several thousand drawings and watercolors. Counted eight successors: the children of his brother and sisters and their children, including Charles Terrace, Bonnard's nephew, with whom he was very close. In general, it seemed quite simple - but keep in mind this is only the beginning of my story. It was developed in a period of not less than fifteen years, so I tell it in a shortened version, otherwise it will Balzac novel.

So, according to the requirements of the law, after the death of Bonnard notary ordered genealogical research on the identity of his wife, Maria Boursin, at svomestitelstvu Marta de Melina. & GENEALOGY made a stunning discovery: it turned out that Martha had a sister! The sister was married to an Englishman by the name of Bowers. The couple had four daughters Bowers, however, soon to become three - one died. All three sisters were dancers Bowers. With access to the notarial documents, they found a forged letter Martha Bonnard composed after the death of his wife. Process. All legacy has been sealed, court administrator, responsible for business Bonnard, moved the contents of his studio in the safes of the bank Chase. Direct heirs Bonnard - Terrace and Bonnard - defending a prominent lawyer Maurice Garzon, who hired an army of additional lawyers. Sisters Bowers charged matter Moro Jaffery. Judgement handed down after years of trial, read: all inheritance goes to his sisters Bowers, as by law if one spouse has committed fraud, inheritance is fully transferred to heirs of the second spouse. Accordingly, a terrace and Bonnard remained empty-handed.

At this point, in mid-1950. From the audience and I became one of the actors of this play.

He gave me the million and I think it was very noble of him, because then it was a lot of money, today it is approximately $ 50 million.

Then I went to Charles Terrace, moral heir Bonnard (recall that the terrace known me since my birth and that he was a close associate of my father, with whom they remained friends). You know, I offered a million dollars for a lost cause in advance! Terraces and Bonnard consulted among themselves and agreed to my proposal. Then it took to obtain the consent of a court administrator, I went to see him. His name Viel, his office was on the Rue Jacob. Such an amazing little man. He sat in the middle of piles of documents which rose almost to the ceiling. This dossier Reno. I kept it after the occupation. It's me! I completely dismembered Reno! From him there were only crumbs! Ashes! Emptiness! After me - a flood! Always! When I do any thing from her is nothing left! He immediately gave his consent. So I took matters into their own hands. Officially, the appellate court addressed the heirs of the artist - Terrace and Bonnard; I worked behind the scenes.
I made contact with all eight lawyers - one for an heir - and hired an additional few stars board. Among them was even a future Minister of Justice in the government of General de Gaulle. This young minister was like a professor Nimbus, in court he had spoken in Latin. Yes, in Latin. Why? Had such a right. So I can not tell the content of his speech - I did not have subtitles. But the president of the court it very much, he kept laughing. Counsel British contenders, Moreau Jaffery, shook hall. Terrace and Bonnard, he put greedy executioners, torturers accidents crumbs. His defense was great. But at the same time and very risky.

And I won the appeal, and now I'll explain why.

We lawyers have decided to adhere to the next line of defense: Bonnarovskaya paper was not a forgery. Thus here! Bonnard did not falsified, and it is easy to prove: writing before a notary public that stupid note on behalf of his late wife, he dated her during the day, when it was composed, that is, nine months after the death of Martha. If he filled in a false date, then we could talk about the forgery. But here we are not dealing with fraud, and with Notary joke ! This document has no legal force. In Bonnard, and never meant to deceive anyone, he never even tried to imitate the signature of his wife - he just wanted to be able to continue to work quietly in his studio.

In short, the Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the Court of First Instance. Accordingly, I was the owner of half of works, which were kept in the workshop. You probably think I was jumping for joy? No, not so, and you know why? Yes, because for me it was not finished, far from being finished. I was going to again go to court and assert the moral right of the artist at work, are still present in his studio.

The writers had a moral right. The composer, too. In the case of divorce or death of a spouse unfinished manuscripts and scores were not included in the common property. Some artists were denied the right to complete their works. Consequently, it was necessary to create a jurisprudence precedent.

In general, what kind of moral right? It is believed that the artist can continue to work on any picture in the Workshop, if it never exhibited and reprodutsiirovali. It can burn it if it still pretty - like Monet. It can pierce it with his foot - as Degas. He can do with it whatever he wants, this work belongs to him alone.

That such argumentary we submitted to the court. And the court ruled in our favor.

So I won the case. I got all the works created after the death of his wife Bonnard, except 25 reproduced paintings, which departed sisters Bowers. But I'll give you 28%of the total number of works. I will do this primarily because you - cousin four Bonnard and have the right to inheritance. We signed an agreement with them and become excellent friends. The latter has recently died at the age of 104 years.

Of course, there could be no question that the terraces and Bonnard were left without pictures. I handed out pictures of all members of the family. First, an administrator appointed an expert to assess the work. Then, the list of works and their evaluation should be to make lots of equal value. Each lot was to be a symbolic picture, the same number of still lifes, landscapes, paintings nabistskogo period ... Believe me, it was hard work we have done it with my son, Alec. Of course, not all received the same amount of work. Most - about five hundred - has remained with me. /... /
I remember, brought his father to see Chase bank safes. Pre-numbered lots were distributed in the premises of the bank. Among those present was a five-year relative of British nurses, she threw a lot. I suggested to the heirs who wish, to share their work. Everything went without a hitch without a hitch. That's the end of history. From this adventure I had today left one hundred and eighty works Bonnard. The most wonderful. Most excellent. How much is it now Bonnar? Landmark work - from 5 to 7 million dollars, others - between 500,000 and 2 million. But these amounts do not matter to me. Do you know why this work is still with me, why I left myself the most beautiful? Because I love them. Because it is the work of the artist, whom I love, whom I love more than anything else. And the only reason I went to this incredible risk.
I would not have done what I did for Bonnard, for any other artist. I could buy myself workshops of other artists. He could have, but did not buy - I have never had such a desire. I could buy, for example, workshop Vlaminck. I knew him well. Never in my life I have not heard that Vlaminck talked about art, he was at it was, in general, do not care. Art for him was reduced to a simple principle: to write - to sell, to write - to sell. Prior to 1910, he was a great artist, then, until 1920 - a very good artist, later vanished, he wrote in flow systems. He systematically answered no. Once he was a man who showed him his early work. That I wrote this crap? kicked a picture, and ripped through it! The man silently took out a letter which he wrote Vlaminck at the time of sale. Vlaminck, he was so!

We bought earlier work Vlaminck, until 1920, for the gallery of the Elysee, which my father opened in about 1935, when the market righted after the depression. She was very well located, opposite the Hotel Bristol. We sold it Derain, Vuillard, Signac, Rouault. Director, there was Jean Mete, one of the smartest and funniest people in Paris. Big joker. Here it is, that's an auctioneer with a hammer! He rasprodast, lots, lots in a dozen! /.../

Industrialist Otto Krebs instructed us to sell his entire collection, it's been a wonderful work of the Impressionists. The money was supposed to convey to the fight against cancer. But the collection was to be sold only after the death of the Krebs, and he died in 1941 In 1945, all the paintings from the collection of the Krebs disappeared.

Second collector named Otto Gerstenberg. He, too, was a magnificent collection of Impressionist masterpieces. Gerstenberg were our close friends, they did not hide their anti-Nazi views. After the death of Gerstenberg in 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, his daughter Margarethe Scharf sold us 50%of the best items from the collection of his father, including the absolutely stunning Degas Place de la Concorde. Transaction took our American company, Vildenshtayn Inc. We bought these paintings to resell them as it wished Mrs. Scharf. Pictures were stored in Berlin at a special warehouse near the place where later was built Hitler's bunker. It only remained to direct the picture forwarded to us in the U.S.. But this time the war began.
In 1946 I went to Berlin to see what is left of the warehouse. A handful of ashes - a warehouse destroyed by fire. All our work had been declared lost.

At the end of the war, Soviet and exported from Germany, all they could - still it was far less than what was stolen or destroyed on their territory - the Nazis were the real experts on the destruction of libraries, churches, looted museums ... It was not a well-organized theft , as in France, and wild prey.







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