A Tale of Two Monkeys

Anthony Speelman is the doyen of English art dealers specializing in DutchGolden Age art. Vividly written and handsomely illustrated, his memoirs offerfascinating insight into the sometimes secretive world of Old Masters. This bookwill appeal not only to dealers, collectors and others in the fine art world, but alsoto would-be collectors eager for a glimpse behind the curtain.These memoirs cover a lifetime of dealing in Old Masters at the very highest level.Speelman’s career started under the guidance of his father Edward, whose ownbiography has much to tell. Over the years, Speelman has sold paintings to many ofthe world’s greatest collectors, including Norton Simon, Paul Mellon, Baron Thyssen,Harold Samuel, Charles Clore and the Wrightsmans in New York, along with worldrenowned museums such as the Getty, the Louvre and the National Gallery, London,among many others. He writes about his encounters with these eminent bodies in alight-hearted style, sometimes amusing, always extremely interesting – including ananecdote about a recent meeting with a Chinese billionaire with a penchant for finewine.The two monkeys in the title refer to two paintings of a monkey holding a peachby George Stubbs, the outstanding English animal painter. Anthony describes howhe discovered one of these masterpieces as a ‘sleeper’ in a Sotheby’s sale.Early in his career Anthony’s rooms in Piccadilly were broken into and a numberof paintings stolen, including a George Stubbs painting of a spaniel. An intriguingtale follows, ending with the paintings recovered some eighteen months later after afailed blackmail attempt on the part of the thieves.Amongst his accomplishments, Speelman was for many years chairman of thevetting committee at the annual Maastricht art fair. He describes the working of thecommittees which ensure that all works exhibited are correctly described. Still activein the art world, he is currently chairman of the vetting committee of the prestigiousannual Masterpiece art fair in London.Other chapters detail Speelman’s travels to California, New York and Paris, hisinterest in gastronomy and his thrilling adventures in the world of horseracing.The book is beautifully illustrated with examples of works that have passedthrough the author’s hands. The wide range of illustrations is not limited to Dutchart and includes works by Canaletto, Stubbs, Raphael, Tiepolo, Melendez and otherOld Masters.