PART 2 - THE HUNT FOR THE HUNT COLLECTION PROVENANCE
What has this chandelier have to do with The Hunt Museum?
"The chandelier has a fascinating history: During the last war, Felix Harbord, the interior decorator who helped Lady Bute with the arrangement her family homes, was serving in the Forces and was charged with repatriating works of art. One day, he came upon this chandelier abandoned in one of the streets of Cleves (Germany) and had it packed in empty munitions boxes, which he addressed to No. 6 Charlotte Square. She (Lady Bute) always ensured that the Drawing Room curtains were left open at night, so that passers-by could share her enjoyment in the chandelier's unexpected arrival."
(From Welcome to Bute House - the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland, and one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in the heart of Edinburgh.)
Felix Harbord also appears in a Irish Military archive file regarding the wartime activities of the Hunts. Expert L. Nicholas writes, "The Hunt Military file also contains a letter, dated November 4, 1940/1? from John Hunt to R.A. Masters, Esq, which refers to business dealings with Felix Harbord, a decorator and dealer who worked both in England and Ireland before and after the war."
Harbord was posted as a Monuments and Fine Arts Officer at the British Collecting Point at Schloss Celle near Hanover. Some time after he left that post it was discovered that many of the hundreds of cases of recovered art objects stored in the Collecting Point had been rifled. The thefts were the subject of an investigation by the British authorities.
".. the records of this investigation and the records of the Collecting Point should be examined to see if any of the missing objects could be matched to those in the Museum. ...allegations that Felix Harbord took objects from the Collecting Point and sold them should also be documented"
By whom? Now that the press has cleared the Hunts, the will to find out the truth behind each provenance is diminished.
Lynn Nicholas examined the documents in the Irish Military File for the “smoking gun” to looted art and Nazi connections and found no hard evidence; just 30 pages of circumstantial, red flags - some of which she advised should be explored further. I am at a loss as to why the buck stopped there.
Lynn advises the continuation of research instead of undertaking it herself.
She acknowledges that the singular effort of the museum director, Virginia
Teehan was unfinished.
The existing data hardly exonerates the Hunts. Their wartime purchases still are completely and mysteriously bereft of ownership history.
As Nicholas herself writes, “For most of the objects in the collection, there is essentially no provenance at all. The lack of documentation was a matter of great concern both to the present director and to her predecessor”
And to Lynn Nicholas as well, as she implores, “Highest priority should, therefore, be given to continued provenance research” But the press missed this "Highest priority" altogether in their reporting of the case.
Fern,
You are right to draw attention to the lack of provenance as well as the Hunts' connection with the shifty Felix Harbord. But neither proves that the artefacts in the Hunt Museum are looted.
It is up to the accusers to demonstrate their case, not the accused to refute it.
Now that the artefacts are all on display on the internet, we'll see whether any looting claims arise. There's been not a single one so far.
Posted by: Tony Allwright | October 17, 2007 at 07:15 PM