Norton Simon's Purchase

I attended a members reception at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena marking the opening of an exhibit entitled "Lock, Stock and Barrel:  Norton Simon's Purchase of Duveen Brothers Gallery.  In the 1960's Norton Simon began purchasing paintings from the Duveen Brothers Gallery, once one of the largest and most successful dealerships of the international art market.  He started with the purchase of "Portrait of a Courtesan" that was reported to have been painted by Titian (Tiziano Vecellio, 1485 to 1576).  The authenticity has been disputed.  However, Simon decided to purchase this and then later the whole inventory of nearly 800 objects as well as the Duveen gallery building at 18 East 79th Street in New York City for $4 million dollars.  Simon sold off most of the objects to recoup his purchase cost.  Today 130 objects remain in the Norton Simon Collection including primarily paintings, a handful of sculpture, a few porcelains and a cape purportedly worn by Charles IV of Spain.  Only about two dozen pieces are regularly on permanent display, owing to their condition, the type of restoration that the paintings underwent, or their dubious attribution.

Here are my photos of some of the pieces in the exhibit:

"Bust Portrait of a Courtesan," 1509 by Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), Italian, 1489-1576

"Madonna and Child," mid-15th century, attributed to Luca della Robbia or studio cast, Italian, 1400=1482

"The Bay of Naples," 1762 by Claude Joseph Vernet, French, 1714-1789 

"Portrait of the Marquis d'Havrincourt," 1713 by Nicolas de Largilliere, French, 1656-1746

"Standing Figure of a Court Lady, circa 19th century, Chinese Qing dynasty (1644-1912)

"Lady Hamilton as Medea," 1786 by George Romney, English, 1734-1802
Born the daughter of a blacksmith, she became mistress and later wife of Sir William Hamilton, the British envoy to Naples.  This represents one of her famous "attitudes," a series of dramatic poses to act out mythological characters.

"Portrait of Louis XIII, King of France 1601-1643," 1622 by the Workshop of Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish, 1577-1640

"Portrait of Anne of Austria, Queen of France 1601-1666," 1622 by Workshop of Peter Paul Rubens

"The Sense of Touch," 1614-16 by Jusepe de Robera, Spanish 1591-1652

"Rape of The Sabine," 16th century Bronze by Giovanni da Bologna, Italian, 1524-1608

"A Venetian Nobleman," late 16th century, by Domenico Robusti, called Tintoretto, Italian 1518-1594

"Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist," early 16th century by gthe Workshop of Titian.