Freeman's | Hindman Presents For the Love of Barnes: The Collection of Dr. Richard J. Wattenmaker
Freeman’s | Hindman is honored to present the sale of the Collection of Dr. Richard J. Wattenmaker on September 22, 2024.
Comprised of American and European Fine Art, Furniture and Decorative Arts, the single-owner event pays tribute to the Philadelphia author, teacher, and scholar's eclectic taste and extensive knowledge.
Richard J. Wattenmaker was often described as an art savant. Born in Philadelphia in 1941, he enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania in 1963, while also studying at the Barnes Foundation under Violette de Mazia and Barton Church, where he met his wife Eva, then fresh off the boat from Sweden. He continued his education at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University, where he received his MA and PhD following his dissertation on The Art of William Glackens. Starting his career as the Director of Rutgers University Art Gallery, Wattenmaker subsequently became the Chief Curator of Toronto’s Art Gallery of Ontario, Director of the Chrysler Museum, and Director at the Flint Institute of Arts. Wattenmaker also worked as the Director of the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art for seventeen years, and taught at the Barnes Foundation, where a yearly scholarship is still offered in his name.
Throughout his career, Wattenmaker oversaw major shows and lectures dedicated to many of the artists for whom he would eventually become the leading reference, such as William Glackens, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, brothers Maurice and Charles Prendergast, as well as Jean Hugo, great grandson of poet and novelist Victor Hugo, whom Wattenmaker and his wife Eva knew personally and regularly visited in the South of France. The Wattenmaker Collection marks the first time so many works by the artist, whose 40th death anniversary is being loudly celebrated in France, are offered on the market.
Almost naturally, Wattenmaker also started his own personal collection that echoed his many overlapping specialties and interests. He collected the artists he knew best, either personally or academically speaking. His penchant for the bold, shimmering colors of his many Modern, Surrealist, and Fauve works blended effortlessly with his appreciation for Pennsylvania history in his assortment of Fraktur and redware ceramics. Above all, Wattenmaker’s primary passion and a great source of his intrigue, pride, and joy was wrought iron, which he collected avidly, both in America and Europe, especially France.
The Wattenmaker residence was a harmony of textures, colors, media, and aesthetics. In each room, fine art, furniture, and decorative arts not only lived and worked together, but actively engaged in dialogue–a bold and dynamic exchange of European and American influences. By doing so, Wattenmaker underscored his confidence in their equal status. Clearly indebted to Dr. Albert C. Barnes’ exhibiting and collecting philosophies, Wattenmaker displayed gridirons, hinges, locks, and other trammels next to Modern oils and drawings on walls punctuated by stepback cupboards filled with glazed redware. He curated his own home with an enigmatic and deeply personal arrangement that spoke to him and revealed inherent connections. In his award-winning book, American Paintings and Works on Paper in the Barnes Foundation, Wattenmaker quotes a letter from Henri Matisse, who thought such juxtapositions “help students understand a lot of things that the academies don’t teach.” Matisse found it “beneficial for the formation of American artists; a preparation for the flowering of American Art.”
Freeman’s | Hindman's exhibition allows for a fresh, enlightening rediscovery of Dr. Wattenmaker's collection. This can be understood as both a tribute to the artists and craftsmanship represented in it and a way to educate all art lovers. The once intimate and very private Collection is now officially proudly out and open to the public—similar to Barnes’ historic move from Little Merion, PA, to Philadelphia in 2011.
Featured images:
Image 1:
Lot 20 | Giorgio de Chirico (Italian, 1888-1978) | Horses of the Hellespont | Estimate: $50,000 - $80,000
Image 2:
Lot 43 | A Group of Three Wrought Iron Spit Holders, French or Basque Region, 18th Century | Estimate: $2,000 - $3,000
Lot 76 | A Printed and Hand-Colored Fraktur Birth and Baptism Record, Georg Friedrick Speyer (active 1774-1801) | Estimate: $2,000 - $3,000
Lot 191 | A Dutch Slip-Decorated Earthenware Footed Charger, 17th Century | Estimate: $800 - $1,200
EXHIBITION DATES AND TIMES:
SEPTEMBER 13-22
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM