The vanished collection

Pauline Baer de Perignon

Book - 2022

"It all started with a list of paintings. There, scribbled by a cousin she hadn't seen for years, were the names of the masters whose works once belonged to her great-grandfather, Jules Strauss: Renoir, Monet, Degas, Tiepolo and more. The list drove Pauline Baer de Perignon on a frenzied trail of research that takes her from the occupation of France to the present day as she breaks the silence around the wrenching experiences her family never fully transmitted, and asks what art itself is capable of conveying over time" --

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Subjects
Genres
Autobiographies
Published
New York : New Vessel Press [2022]
Language
English
French
Main Author
Pauline Baer de Perignon (author)
Other Authors
Natasha Lehrer (translator)
Item Description
"First published in French as La collection disparue"--Title page verso.
Physical Description
241 pages : genealogical table ; 20 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (page 236).
ISBN
9781939931986
  • I. Treasures of the Past
  • II. Memories for Sale
  • III. The Auction Catalog
  • IV. The Phantom of the Museum
  • V. On the Trail of Jules
  • VI. The Secrets of a Collector
  • VII. Sketch
  • VIII. "Please Contact Michel Strauss"
  • IX. Coffee with an Expert
  • X. The Miracle of Forgetting
  • XI. An Expression
  • XII. Troy
  • XIII. Jules's Chair
  • XIV. Beginner's Luck
  • XV. A Shepherd, Seen from Behind
  • XVI. Alone in Paris, 1940
  • XVII. The Looted Art Archives
  • XVIII. My Method
  • XIX. The Koblenz Archive
  • XX. The Tailleur & Son Storage Company
  • XXI. Suddenly, Modiano
  • XXII. Cold Feet
  • XXIII. "My Strength Was Discretion"
  • XXIV. A Collector's Notebooks
  • XXV. Jules's Signature
  • XXVI. Jewish, Me?
  • XXVII. An Appointment at the Ministry of Culture
  • XXVIII. Restitution
  • XXIX. Homesick
  • XXX. "When You Close Your Eyes"
  • XXXI. Madame de Parabère Holds on to Her Mystery
  • XXXII. "Sammlung Jules Strauss"
  • XXXIII. The Forgotten Letter
  • XXXIV. Romantic Weekend in Dresden
  • XXXV. A Family Meal
  • XXXVI. A Very Long Wait
  • Epilogue: The Painting's Long Journey Home
  • Acknowledgments
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Baer de Perignon recounts her remarkable quest to pursue her family's lost art collection in this riveting debut. When she learned from a cousin that paintings owned by her great-grandfather, a respected Jewish art collector, may have been stolen by Nazis during WWII (rather than sold in an auction, as she'd been told), Baer de Perignon went on a hunt to reclaim her family's contribution to French art history. Over the next several years, her quest took her from the archives of the Musée d'Orsay to the Louvre and the German Federal Archives, and leads from each--and unexpected information from Nobel laureate Patrick Modiano--brought Baer de Perignon closer to unearthing the truth. With the help of family members, museum curators, and art historians, Baer de Perignon eventually secured the return of Tiepolo's Shepherd from the Louvre and Largillière's Portrait of a Lady as Pomona from the Dresden museum after a complicated restitution process. More moving discoveries that come to the fore during her pursuit are those she realizes about herself: "In my brilliant family... I've often felt left behind... This was where I belonged." This page-turner will delight art history and mystery fans alike. (Jan)

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Memoir of a quest to recover artwork seized by the Nazis in occupied France. During an unexpected encounter with her cousin Andrew Strauss, whom Baer de Perignon hadn't seen for years, their conversation turned to the art collection owned by their great-grandfather Jules Strauss, a prominent Jewish art collector who was living in France during World War II. Andrew suggested that their great-grandfather's collection, which included works by world-renowned impressionist artists such as Renoir, Monet, and Degas, was stolen by the Nazis rather than sold in 1932, as indicated by the auction catalog. Andrew's comments prompted the author to begin an investigation into the life and collection of Strauss, which she knew very little about. "Andrew's words," she writes, "sent my mind tumbling down a rabbit hole: I couldn't tell if the effect was pleasant, bizarre, or anxiety-inducing….The fragments of family history Andrew evoked were profoundly unsettling." Her sleuthing soon turned into an obsession, as she spent almost every day researching museum archives and talking with the few remaining family members alive during the occupation as well as with museum curators and other art experts. She even visited a medium during her quest to learn more. Because Baer de Perignon didn't know much about buying and selling art, despite many of her family members being in the business, her journey was even more difficult, and her questions led to even more questions. The author's quest is undeniably intriguing, bringing to light the struggles that many Jewish families have endured--and continue to endure--in their attempts to reclaim artwork and other items taken by the Nazis. Some readers may find the often combative dynamics among the author's family off-putting, and the prose is occasionally stilted; still, the story is memorable and often moving. A fascinating journey to uncover lost family secrets--and treasure. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.