With interest on savings being historically low at the moment and the prices for shares being sky high, investors are looking at other types of investments in order to achieve a return on investment (also known as making money). And of course there is always risk involved and usually the riskier the investment, the people wanting your hard earned cash will promise you a high return on this risky investment for greed to overcome risk aversion.

 As with everything, the price of a product will depend on the supply and demand. The lower the supply of a product and the higher the demand for it, the higher will be the resulting price. Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, which sold for $450.3 million on November 15, 2017 at Christie’s is still the most expensive painting ever sold.

 The sale shattered previous auction records and exceeded auction expectations. The sale underscored market demand for Da Vinci’s rare auction appearances (low supply), and the competition among collectors to own a work of such caliber and distinction (high demand).

 The painting had already attracted a myriad of owners and price tags over the years: from selling for £45 at Sotheby’s in 1958 to a $127.5 million purchase price for Russian billionaire Dmitry E. Rybolovlev in 2005, whose trust sold it at the 2017 auction.  Due to being out of the public eye since 1958, it was a salvage project—with an unknown history and hidden by numerous overpaints, it was long mistaken for a copy.After its 2005 sale, years of work and research ensued to uncover its true identity.

 Years of research pieced together its story, finally enabling its attribution to Leonardo da Vinci. As a result, the painting’s value shot up in value, despite the raised issues regarding to what extent the painting is still original after several cleanings and restorations. Despite its historical significance, this record-breaking sale brought forth conflicting opinions. Many thought of the sale as one of notoriety and brand recognition, rather than of appreciation and respect of the painting’s gravitas. After the sale the painting disappeared again from public view, which led to more speculation in the art world.

Not all buyers have such deep pockets as the buyer of the Salvator Mundi. Sometimes, art investors will club together to buy an expensive painting, store it in an art vault for a number of years and then release it back in the market after an agreed period or an opportune time when a certain estimated value has been reached. Of course, the market for a particular style or painter could have changed with prices going down resulting in an ultimate loss for an investor after storage, insurance and conservation costs, auction costs and of course the management fee for the investment management company. Often these investment funds have investment horizons of 10 years or more.

2020 was a very good year for the art world, but this only pertained to the high end of the industry where works of art were sold for top dollar this year. The Blackhats were regularly hanging out at less prestigious auctions this year and also saw questionable works of art sold at high prices. After we visited the Museum of Counterfeit Art (Art forgeries (museums-vledder.nl)) in the Netherlands and read their book, we try to be cautious to a fault.

Another issue we would like to address is when you need to raise cash quickly you will not receive top dollar should you want to sell your treasure in a hurry. Art is not a liquid asset like the money in your bank savings account.

 Is art a good investment for an art lover? Our thoughts are that it might be a good investment in the long run, but only:

1. When you spend money which you can afford to miss, the investment horizon is long and a return on investment is not guaranteed.

2. Buy what you absolutely love! When a painting or other work of art is affordable, ‘speaks’ to you, and sparks joy (thank you, Marie Kondo), only then it is considered worth buying. At the Black Hat Gallery we always ask ourselves before purchasing an item:

– Do we love the subject of the work? The Blackhat Gallery does not buy or sell paintings of dead, hurt, suffering or sad animals and/or people. We don’t like dead or wilting flowers. We are also not inspired by portraits of grumpy or stern people, so those will not featured in our gallery. 

 

 (Sophia Alekseyevna, a painting by Ilya Repin. She is very grumpy as there is a dead body hanging outside her window.)

The Black Hat Gallery does not knowingly buy or sell items made of animal parts. Although we see many beautiful items made of such materials, they do not lift our spirit. The most beautiful animal is a happy living animal.

– Do we appreciate the technical skills of the artist? It does happen that we love the subject of an art work, but it falls short in the technical execution in our view. We see the most amazing works of little known artists and amateurs and we will happily champion their artwork. On the other hand, we sometimes see works of well known artists, who happened to have an off day and we will pass on it.

 – Does it meet our standards regarding the technical condition?

Although we are happy to reframe and remount pictures and do a lot of careful cleaning and polishing, we will not buy items which will need a lot of restoration. This in order to keep our prices affordable.

Only when we say a unanimous ‘yes’ to the above, a work will be acquired for the gallery. We can afford to wait for the right buyer too. We will advise a potential buyer not to buy a work of art if they are not sure.

3. Buy the best quality you can afford.

 One-of-a-kind works of art come with the highest price but have the greatest potential return on long term investment. Etchings and other prints are more affordable but less likely to turn a profit. The best quality print is known as a giclée (zhee-klay). It’s similar to the original work than other prints, but also more expensive. As a rule, rarer prints are more valuable.

Reproductions are the most affordable to acquire, but will not generate a profit when resold due to the unlimited numbers reproduced.

In our view, art should be enjoyed regardless of its inherent value. A lovely well framed print of the Fighting Temeraire might give you a lot more pleasure than having the real thing hanging on the wall. Just think of all the responsibility coming through the door with the painting, it would kill the spark of joy.

Buy what you absolutely love and only buy what you can afford; it is easier to upgrade than to disinvest in the long run. A monetary return on investment in art is not a given as art is prone to fashion trends and what is in fashion today, will only return back in fashion over 30 years or so.

As such we think enjoying your artworks on a daily basis is the best return of investment when it comes to investing in art. Enjoying the here and now is worth more than an uncertain monetary win in the long run.

 

 

Some 30 year ago, Mr. and Mrs B. were on a camping trip in the Scottish Highlands with an old tent and an even older car. One day we packed up our tent and decided to drive from Braemar via Tomintoul to Elgin. We decided to drive one of the most spectacular and dangerous roads in Scotland, the A989, which is a bendy road cutting right through the scenic Highlands. When we saw the McEwan Gallery (www.mcewangallery.com) in Bridge of Gairn (near Ballater), we had to make a stop as we did and still do like to visit art galleries.

Mr. B still says that he heard Mrs. B suddenly coming to a screeching halt and found her drooling in front of an amazing portrait of a smiling young lady with gorgeous eyes, powdered grey hair and a fabulous wide brimmed hat. Just the most excellent birthday present ever!! We were informed by Mrs. McEwan that this portrait was by the famous pastel painter Mr. John Russell and would cost GBP 20,000. Unfortunately, we had to leave the portrait behind as we could only manage 20,000 pennies. Until this day, we refer to this pastel portrait as the ‘one who got away’!

 

 

 

 

Over the following years, we learned more about art and history and had the pleasure at looking at many John Russell pastel paintings over the years. Some we loved and others, not so much. Mr. B really wanted to have a Russell painting to sell in the Black Hat Gallery, but stipulated that the subject of the painting had to be a lovely young lady. As such we just searched until we found in October 2020 what we were looking for; a very good looking young lady attributed to John Russell in an auction of the contents of Beale House in Yorkshire. Given the style of the dress and her hair style, we would date it around 1800. It was described as ‘Half length portrait of a woman’. That sounded rather boring, but we liked the photograph!

 

 

 

 

The auction description also gave the following reference: Literature: Neil Jeffares, Dictionary of pastellists before 1800, London, 2006J.64.3667 autograph Russell.

 

 

 

Interestingly, this prizewinning Dictionary of pastellists before 1800 can be perused free of charge on the internet under the domain name: www.pastellists.com. Select Artists in the left column, subsequently select John Russell. Do take the time to read the essay on John Russell, it gives an enormous amount of very interesting information about the artist. The 18th century art critics really did not mince words about the artists exhibiting their work at the Royal Academy. To find our young lady, select Part VI: Unindentified sitters, etc. Subsequently look up the reference number 2006J.64.3667 in the text. You can’t miss it as there is a photo of her shown under the relevant text. It also has two little Greek letters in the entry: πδ. In the list of abbreviations (see top line in the main menu on the home page), the Greek abbreviations are explained. In this case, it means that in the opinion of the author the work itself is the autograph (of the artist) and that the identity of the sitter is unknown. To know the identity of the sitter would add value to the painting, especially if she was famous.

 

 

 

We would not have bid for this painting if we had had any doubt that it is not by John Russell.
The auction itself was a nail biting affair. Mrs B. had registered for the auction and had put in an autobid with limit well above the auctioneer’s estimate. Russell paintings usually go for 150 to 300% above the mid estimate. The bidding flew up to the highest amount we could afford and then stopped, but we did not know if we were the highest bidder or someone else. But when we received the invoice for the hammer price and the surcharge, we knew we had been successful.

 

 

 

We then had to arrange transport of the painting from Edinburgh to the Netherlands. Again www.pastellists.com gave good advice (Conservation of pastels (pastellists.com)) on the subject of transport and conservation as pastel paintings are very delicate and when damaged, it cannot be reversed.

 

 

 

It was obvious that a pastel painting cannot be packaged like a watercolor and transported by a normal courier service. We already had very good experiences with Bradleys Antique Packing Services Ltd (www.antiquepacking.co.uk)), which is headquartered in Darlington, England. As such, we asked them if it was possible for them to handle the packing and the transport and they assured us that handling a pastel painting would not be an issue. In due time, the painting arrived in Holland well wrapped in a special lined crate delivered by Bradleys staff with their own van. The painting had been kept vertical all the way. Such specialist service comes at a price, but it is definitely worth the money!

 

 

 

The next day, we gave the pastel painting a close inspection and noted that the surface of the painting was too close to the glass and the frame itself was damaged. The paper on the back of the frame was torn and showed water damage. The chapter on conservation from www.pastellists.com gives very specific advice about framing. We had already done our research just in case there were issues with the frame and called in the help of the specialist framer and picture restorer Mr. André Weda (www.andreweda.nl).

 

 

 

It was obvious to us that the glass in the frame was modern and André determined quickly that the frame itself was about 50 years old. As such we decided to give the pastel painting a 5-star treatment to make sure she will be going strong again for the next 50 years with a new frame, special glass and an internal frame work designed to keep the painting away from the mount and absorb vibrations. André works with only FSC-certified wood, which we applaud. As the picture was taken out of the frame, we took the opportunity to take a few photographs of the back and side of the painting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We inspected the back of the painting also with black light, but there was no signature of the artist. We then made a mock up of the new frame with the painting. It was remarkable how lively the colors are of the painting without the dirty glass, which had marred its appearance.

 

 

 

 

The re-framed painting looks wonderfully comfortable in its new special frame. André also glued material at the back of the frame to act as a shock absorber to absorb vibrations when the picture hangs against an outside wall. Again, when you engage a specialist you pay extra, but it is definitely worth it. On the back of the painting, we have glued all the old stickers from the previous auctions in order to reflect its history. Originally, there had been a note glued on the back that the painting was a John Russell and had been certified by Mr. Jeffares. It should be noted though that Mr. Jeffares only gives his personal opinion about a pastel and not an official one (as stated on the website). Nevertheless, we have stuck the note back back on the back of the painting as it belongs there as part of its history.

 

 

 

 

It goes without saying that if you are the lucky new owner of this painting; we will make arrangements for her to be shipped with the utmost care by a specialist art transport company to make sure that she will arrive in the best possible condition. In order to preserve this treasure for the future generations, please have a look at www.pastellists.com advice about hanging pastel paintings.

 

 

 

Thank you if you have made it to the end of this blogpost!! We hope that we have not put you off about buying a pastel painting. They are among the most lively and beautiful works of art you can buy in the market, and they will survive for hundreds of years when properly taken care of. Take care of them and they will give you pleasure for many years to come.

 

 

Sometimes we are looking for inventory for the Black Hat Gallery and find interesting items which are not suitable for our gallery. During one of our searches we found an auction listing for a porcelain box. When we had a closer look at the photo, we saw the names Suriname and Paramaribo written in a beautiful long hand, which piqued our interest. The text in French says “A Son Excellence Monsieur van der Meer, Gouverneur Général de La Colonie de Suriname, Colonel de Cavallerie aus Service de Messeigrs Les Etat Généraux de Hollande et de Westfrise etc., etc, etc, à Paramaribo.” This translates as “To his Excellency Mr. van der Meer, governor-general of the Colony of Suriname, Colonel of the Cavalry in service to the States General of Holland and West Frisia”. There is more writing on the inside lid of the box: “Presenté par Son très-humble et très-obeissant serviteur Michel Gabriel Fredersdorff”. This translates as “Presented by His most humble and very obedient servant Michel Gabriel Fredersdorff”. The underside of the box is decorated as a letter with a red seal and the nr. 1. Surinam (or Suriname in Dutch) is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north. Surinam was first colonized by the British, and captured by the Dutch in 1667, who governed it as Surinam until 1954. In the 18th century, Surinam was a colony of the Republic of the United Dutch Provinces, but was run by the Surinam Society (Societé du Surinam or Sociëteit van Suriname). This was a private company, founded by the city of Amsterdam, the Dutch West Indies Company (West-Indische Compagnie or WIC) and the Van Sommelsdijck merchant family. Although each party had one vote in the Society, in practice most of the board was connected to Amsterdam’s patrician elite. The Surinam Society negotiated the sale of Surinamese products, especially sugar and coffee, but also the slave trade, on which the WIC had an official monopoly. Enslaved Africans were shipped to Surinam and then sold in the local slave market. Many were set to work on the sugar plantations, of which there were more than 500 in 1750. It is noted that there were efforts made in the late 1740s to attract more people from Western Europe to work and live in Surinam. Mr. Michel Gabriel Fredersdorff acquired a parcel of land situated on the Crommewijne River through a ‘warrand’ during 1748 and established a plantation with the name of Berlin or Berlijn. He actually never travelled to Surinam and his local business would have been handled by an administrator to act in his name. The States General of Holland and West Frisia was effectively the government of the United Dutch Provinces during the 18th Century. This authority appointed the governor-general of Surinam. The latter was assisted by a political council in which the wealthiest plantation owners were represented. Mr. Pieter Albert van der Meer was appointed as Governor-general of Surinam on March 6, 1754 and arrived in Surinam during October 1754. His daily Governor journal from that time can be accessed in the Dutch National Archives. This is a businesslike description of the daily happenings in Surinam. In 21st century eyes, it is a harrowing narration of the arrival of ships transporting slaves, slave markets, the purchase of slaves, military expeditions to recapture fugitive slaves and the attacks of fugitive slaves on plantations. The journal also contains more mundane information such as the names of arriving ships, captains and passengers as well as departures as well as the loading of cargoes. It recorded the death of locals and issues regarding the army and hospital. When an unknown ship appears in sight and then disappeared, the Governor feared a possible war with a foreign nation only to show his relief when noting down the name of the ship having arrived in Paramaribo. Only a few times does the Governor’s journal show a fleeting glimpse of the personality of Governor van der Meer. At one time he writes in the journal that he would be able to do more work if he was left alone for a few minutes. At another point in the Governor’s journal he writes “Het is onmogelijk voor een Gouverneur om alles in‘t hoofd te kunnen hebben” (which translates as “it is impossible for a Governor to remember everything”) which suggests that he had had a trying day. He suffered his first bout of illness in February 1755 and from then on his health deteriorated until he died on Tuesday, August 24, 1756. Given the above, we can date the snuff box between 1754 and 1756. It should be noted that Governor van der Meer was also a plantation owner himself as he reportedly owned a plantation called Meersorgh. Moreover, before leaving from the Netherlands for Surinam, he was appointed as an administrator on July 4, 1754, for the plantations Nieuw Levant, La Recontre, Nieuw Mocha and Tijrhone according to a notaries act preserved within the Amsterdam city archives. These plantations were owned by Count Stephanus Laurentius Neale. The latter was an extremely rich man who was nicknamed the “richest of the rich” in Surinam, having made a large fortune there growing coffee. The latter had a close connection with the Prussian court after he was invited by the Prussian king Frederick II (later known as Frederick the Great) to run his business from Prussia. In 1750, Mr. Neale had been made a count by the king as a reward for his move to Berlin. It is very likely that Count Neale knew Mr. Michel Gabriel Fredersdorff as the latter was a highly important person at the Prussian court being a close confidante of Frederick the Great as well as his secret chamberlain/valet/treasurer and master of Frederick’s spy ring. As such it is very possible that he introduced Mr. Fredersdorff to his administrator Governor van der Meer to further his business interests in the colony. Mr. Michel Gabriel Fredersdorff met the future Frederick II, when the latter was still in prison for having attempted to run off with his lover Hans Hermann von Katte. Mr. Fredersdorff was four years older than crown prince Frederick and served in the army at that time. When Frederick moved to Rheinsberg Palace with his wife in 1736, he made Fredersdorff his valet. When he ascended to the throne in 1740, he furthermore made him his private treasurer and, within less than a month, gave him the estate of Zernikow as a present. Later he also made him director of the royal theatre. During the summer months the king moved to the Sanssouci palace, where Mr. Fredersdorff’s bedroom adjoined his own, which is still shown today. Voltaire speculated in his writing about the exact nature of their relationship, where it was also commented on by others such as the royal gardens director Heinrich Ludwig Manger. Mr. Fredersdorff reportedly was a talented amateur flautist like the king. Johan Sebastian Bach dedicated a flute sonata in E major (BW1035) to Mr. Fredersdorff, when he visited the court in Potsdam where Bach’s son had been appointed principal harpsichordist to the king. Mr. Fredersdorff was also active in business and established a silk worm farm at his Zernikow estate, owned 2 breweries and owned a merchant ship named Goose, which sailed in the Baltic. In 1753, he married Ms. Marie Elisabeth Daum, daughter of Godfried Adolph Daum, a very rich merchant banker and owner of a gun factory. The latter had provided Frederick secretly with credit when the latter was crown prince and received large orders for the production of guns during Frederick’s wars. There is room for further research as to which factory actually manufactured the snuffbox. We noted a snuffbox in the Victoria & Albert museum which is of a similar letter form. We approached the Meissen factory’s archives, but they indicated that there are no porcelain marks on the box which would allow them to identify the box. Nevertheless this little snuffbox which only measures about 7cm x 5cm by 1.8 cm is a poignant little reminder of the Netherland’s colonial past.