January Reception

Our reception on January 23, 2008 was full of old friends and new, not to mention a good variety of art. Here is a brief photographic survey of the evening. Click on the thumbnails to view the images larger.

New Director of Security

We wish to announce the appointment of Carlo (Crivelli) as our new Director of Security. Carlo will take up the position following a period of intense study and training.

New Page: Mystery Work

We've added a new page to our web site, the Mystery Work page. This is your chance to contribute your own attribution suggestions for our works by unknown artists. Be a part of our research process.

Sale Update

The Braith-Mali-Museum Biberach has recently acquired this rare and important painting by Johann Heinrich Schoenfeld from us. This delicate depiction of Alexander the Great Offering Campaspe to Apelles was only recently discovered and has been dated by Dr. Cécile Michaud to the years 1640-1645, when the artist was active in Naples. Schoenfeld was born in Biberach am Riß in 1609 and this acquisition represents the first painting to enter the collection of the museum of the artist’s native city.

Treasures in the Attic

On March 31, 2007 we were proud to have participated in a discovery and valuation day benefiting the SPCA of Westchester County. Our group gave over 120 opinions and helped raise funds for and awareness of the Society's work on behalf of animals.


Pictured from left to right are appraisers Jane St. Lifer, Molly Cocker, Robert Simon, and Ellen Epstein.

Bar Association Mock Trial

On March 13, 2007, Robert participated in a mock trial held by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York (ABCNY). The topic was Divorce in New York in the 21st Century... "Who Gets What & How Much?", and Robert presented as part of a panel of distinguished attorneys and appraisers from many disciplines.

Montclair Art Museum Lecture

On February 28, 2007, Robert was pleased to be the guest lecturer at the Montclair Art Museum's Lebrun Library Conversations with Authors Series: The Art Behind the Art. His topic? Cleaning Up Dirty Pictures.

We usually think of works of art as fixed, unaltered images. But over the centuries, paintings - even the most famous ones - have changed their appearances, not simply from the effects of time, but from deliberate alterations inflicted on them. Pictures have been purposely defaced, over painted, cut down, added to, and otherwise interfered with; subjects have been altered, heads swapped, body parts eliminated, faces revised. Why would great treasures (as well as ordinary paintings) be subject to such interventions? The answers lie in many of the same issues that trouble our society today - religious, moral, commercial, and political - actions motivated by censorship, cash, and, sometimes, just craziness.

There was a great turn out, and the lecture was punctuated with many illustrations of the deliberate alterations paintings sometimes undergo, like the above Carlo Dolci painting of Salome with the head of John the Baptist (right), which was later over painted to depict a "more acceptable" tray of fruit (left).

January Reception

On January 24, 2007, we hosted an evening reception for colleagues and friends. The combination of art with good company and excellent comestibles brought many faces, both old and new, to our Manhattan gallery space. A few photos of this merry evening can be seen here. Click on the thumbnails to view the images larger.