The whole truth about the art collector in Russia

[nikola]

"Native Newspaper" Collecting Art
T. Basov
The whole truth about the art collector in Russia

Collection of art - one of the most dangerous hobbies. It involves millions of dollars, theft, burglary and even murder. And the names of private collectors and the case is heard in connection with counterfeiting, speculation and a violation of the laws. The whole truth about the private collecting correspondent "Native Newspaper" Tatyana told BASS Michael Perchenko, owner of Russia's best collection of classic Western art, director of the Moscow auction house.
- First of all we must distinguish between "assembly" and "collection". The line is thin, but it exists. Collecting can be anything, even irons, even cookies, but the collection - it is strictly selected on the things of the highest artistic level and quality. The collector must be able to give even the most expensive to the heart of things in favor of the best. I say, I can not buy paintings, which are exhibited in the Munich Pinakothek, but I have things that would hang there.

- This is the most interesting: what do you have?

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- Sorry, mystery. I can say that one of the paintings is home of the Duke of Ferrara. For centuries it has passed through many hands until it got to me.

- Where do you buy a painting?

- In Russia, I do not buy anything. I have access to a hundred real connoisseur in the world, I know where very nice things you can buy at an affordable price. And - true. As for the auctions, it is ridiculous to me when a new Russian proudly says that he bought the painting at Sotheby's or Christie's. After the famous auctions are primarily for dealers, art dealers. But these hardened businessmen such a "new Russian" buyer kept behind oleaster and nothing good to buy it simply will not allow!

- Sometimes, what you peddling fake?

- At first - yes. Allegedly "Dutch" of German descent - in the XIX century in Germany, worked as an artist, who wrote in the old Flemish boards and specifically "under Dutch." Now I was virtually impossible to cheat. And in general, counterfeiting very much. Interest 85 sold Russian art - fake. Using burst mode at the local painters, and entire teams of skilled craftsmen very successfully operate, easy to sell replica nouveau riche.

- Then how can trust the conclusions of experts, which are attached to works of art in galleries and antique shops?
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- My opinion: should not trust anyone. Only me. Although I still trust the two men - Vladimir Sadkov and Patrice Новбари.

- A general collecting - a hobby or profession?

- Certainly, the profession. And elite. At an art you can learn, but expert - never. You need to have an innate "an absolute eye when it comes by analogy with perfect pitch.

- When you realize that this profession - are you?
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- I was ten, I wish my mother was preparing to become a violinist. Path to a music school lay by the antique store. I was like a magnet drawn to showcase ... Then fate brought me to amazing people, collectors from God - Schuster, Warsaw, Vishnevsky. Not yet knowing the competitor in me, they taught me to look and see. His first thing I bought in 17 years, with the first salary. It was a porcelain cup with the image of Alexander I and his wife, donated the courtiers to the silver wedding. It cost 15 rubles. Then she was on something bartered. I'm first collected Russian art, Russian furniture made of Karelian birch. Then everything is sold.

- To become a collector, you must be a rich man?

- Of course not! We must simply live art and its collection. This collector of someone who can literally in the garbage, including trash and find masterpieces, can discern among the junk real rarities. Example - Felix Evgen'evich Vishnevsky. He assumed without spending a penny. I remember going to visit, we were carrying him sugar. All his life he went to the same threadbare suit and a battered briefcase he lay 30 thousand rubles - a lot of money in 1970. Legends of the folded, as he came in an antique shop, was looking for some now, got a dirty handkerchief, wiped it, looked, smelled, and then it turned out that unsightly, with many records canvas, bought cheaply, - creation or Rokotov Tropinin. He had a flair for fantastic masterpieces! Like him, a little, but only such and can be a real collector - "sick", shifted to the art. These "crackpot" to save the unrecognized geniuses of hunger, and their paintings - from destruction, were collected from flea markets and attics unique paintings, opened the whole of art, literally snatched from the fires of revolutionary icon and the "alien" pictures, suffered because of their passion, but it is our duty to the persistence of entire layers of cultural heritage. Vishnevsky himself in Stalin's time was taken twice to the Lubyanka, he would be expelled, arrested, and the collection, despite the public safe-conduct, were confiscated. And later, about once every six to eight years, Vishnevsky called "the bodies" and "suggested" to transfer the collection to the State. So his collection became the core collections of museums in Irkutsk, Donetsk, Saratov, Yakutsk. In Moscow on 'museum collections Vishnevsky Tropinin and Moscow artists of his time. Having regular meeting of 100-200 pictures, he started all over again, because to live without it I could not.

- And you had something accidentally find, buy a masterpiece for a pittance?

- Very cheap to buy a good thing - yes, but no more, although I hear stories like someone, for example, recently bought in England for 10 pounds now Korovin. I do in my life without debts barely a month to live. But gradually the collection begins to contain itself - accumulated "exchange fund" to sell something, buy something.

- Can you name the price of some of Russia collection?
- No! And not only for reasons of ethics - the prices are constantly changing. A simple example. Two years ago, my friend, a collector of western art, painting offered Hendrick Averkampa, Netherlands masters early XVII century, two million dollars. He refused, and now bought it for eight. Explained to me: "This is the latest high quality picture Averkampa, the rest are on sale.

A series of high-profile robberies in the late twentieth century and of the tax police force owners of the treasures kept in the shade, or even go underground. Therefore, it is difficult to name the names of the collectors.

Among those who are not afraid to "publish" their treasures, president of Alfa-Bank Pyotr Aven. According to experts, it has a collection of paintings of the masters of the Silver Age is truly museum level.

Widely known collection of Faberge eggs, recently purchased by industrialist Viktor Vekselberg from Malcolm Forbes for $ 90 million. In the antiques today is worth investing the money and do not hesitate to announce it publicly. The businessman Vladimir Logvinenko, for example, does not hide that he paid for the notorious picture of Rubens' Tarquin and Lucretia "almost 90 million dollars, but also for his canvas" The Union of Earth and Water - $ 20 million.
Solid collection of paintings by Russian avant-garde became owner of the chain stores "Arbat Prestige" Vladimir Nekrasov. Among them, he added a significant number of paintings of Soviet and post-Soviet period. Among the newest addition - a huge picture of Tatyana Nazarenko "Pugachev" showing now in the Tretyakov Gallery. To date he has over 7000 paintings, which he intends to place in his own museum.

A valuable collection of icons XV-XX centuries, art historians gathered for a businessman Viktor Bondarenko. Among its planks such rarities as "St George and the Dragon," written by the master of the Novgorod school in the late fifteenth century. Its uniqueness is that the horse is under St. George is not white, as usual, and black. Nevertheless, it is considered that the collection Bondarenko only the third largest among the private collections of icons in Russia. The second belongs to Vladimir Logvinenko, and the owner first asked not to be named, but revealed that his 40 icons of the highest level of skill and safety of collecting for 35 years.

Another type - collectors, zealots - belong to the well-known human rights activist Sergei Grigor'yants and art critic Valery Dudak, who runs the Moscow club of collectors of fine art. At one time Dudakov together with Raisa Gorbachev arranged the first exhibition of private collections in Rossiyskom Culture Fund.

Linguist Yury Nosov has a collection of paintings by Leningrad artists 1920-1940 period. In years when there is that the canvases - people disappeared without a trace, he saved the paintings, and later introduced into scientific use a concept such as the Leningrad School of Painting of the first third of the twentieth century.
In Soviet times, a unique collection of Russian avant-garde gathered well-known collector George Dionisovich Costache. And when he left to live in Greece, most of the collection presented to the Tretyakov Gallery.
On the eve of the New 2005, a Moscow collector Boris Odintsov, more than 70 years collecting Russian art, has experienced a shock: he stole six paintings, which included works by Konstantin Korovin and Elizabeth Boehm. And under the Old New Year, they returned to the place. Head of Federal Service "Rosokhrankultura Viktor Petrakov told" Native Newspaper ":
- Find out about the theft, we immediately got in touch with everyone who, according to our assumptions, the thieves can offer Odintsovo paintings from the collection, and indeed found and pictures and thieves.
- And often rob collectors?
- Well, at least ten times per year approximately.
- You do not care whose values are protected - museums or private individuals?
— Ирония напрасна - наша служба коллекционеров любит и ценит. They, unfortunately, we have abandoned. State does not deal with them, and without them, the culture would be impoverished. Still strong submission to the Soviet era: they say, suspicious person, speculators, which help them - to select all the values in museums. Collectors we owe much more than we want to admit it. It is important that on the antiques market to have more works of art to be brought back to Russia. This requires legal support. Here in February last year passed a law by which you can import free of duty antiques. The Act provides for the inclusion of private collections in non-state part of the museum fund of Russia, but go to a few. Our collector intimidated, he did not hurry "lit" from sin, they say, away.

[antip]

Сообщение от nikola

The whole truth about the private collecting correspondent "Native Newspaper" Tatyana BASS told Michael Perchenko,

Not much truth in this amateurish articles.

[gans]

Сообщение от antip

not much truth in this short article amateurish.

And what is true?

[Кирилл Сызранский]

Сообщение от nikola

The whole truth about the art collector in Russia

A paper with the "true" small, "the whole truth" is not appropriate.

[antip]

Сообщение от gans

And what is wrong?

Because the "alleged" facts and arguments in an interview that "brings to
readers T. Basov naive to the first line: "All truth ...(!)"
Someone here would dare to tell the "whole truth" about his art business?
Hurry to get truthful and reliable information about the specifics of a pickpocket
his profession ...

[gans]

Сообщение от antip

naive to the first line: "All truth ...(!)"

The name is probably "journalistic stunts. And the article itself, is also designed for a wide range of readers, rather than professionals.

[antip]

Сообщение от gans

The name is probably "journalistic stunts. And the article itself, is also designed for a wide range of readers, rather than professionals.

In this and the trouble people nashih.Porfessionalov "on chaff" is not fooled.
But, "a wide range of readers" make a fool of our media professional, although taken
for "pen" as amateurs, and simply not educated in the topic.