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THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF JOSEPH BORKIN (1911-1979) Joseph Borkin was an economist, legal scholar, educator and a fine writer. He was the author of "Impeachment" in the Encyclopedia of Britannica, author of articles on antitrust laws in the Chicago Law Review, Columbia Law Review, Duke Law Revie and a contributor to the Twentieth Century Funds "The Security Markets and Stock Market Control". In addition, he taught courses on global economics and law at numerous universities. Joseph Borkin served as chief economic advisor and attorney in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. As early as 1938, he co-authored a book on the yet unborn art of television titled, Television: The Struggle for Power that predicted, among other things, pay per view cable television and the Internet. The New York Times wrote that it was "required reading for any course devoted to the social sciences" and included it on their list of one hundred best works of the twentieth century. In 1942 he co-authored a major book on cartels, Germany's Master Plan, The Story of The Industrial Offensive which was acclaimed by the critics and grew into a huge best seller. In 1962 he wrote The Corrupt Judge that led to Joseph Borkin's unofficial title as the father of Judicial Disclosure. Because of this ground-breaking work, all American law students are required to take a course in judicial ethics before they graduate. His last two books, The Populist of Wall Street in 1968 and The Crime and Punishment of IG Farben in 1978 were also best sellers. The latter was reprinted in seven different languages after his death. Joseph Borkin's other writings on vastly diverse subjects such as the Indonesian language, O. Henry, and Shakespeare are but a small indication of his widely ranging interests. Joseph Borkin cultivated a relationship with President Sukarno in his capacity as an economic advisor and consultant to the President during the early years of Indonesia's emergence as a nation. President Sukarno, in fact, referred to him as "Indonesia's Lafayette" referencing the Frenchman who championed America's cause during their war for independence with England and without whom, as some believed that, the United States may never have been born. Joseph Borkin made numerous trips to Southeast Asia in the fifties and especially to Indonesia helping the fledgling nation to gain its footing by marshalling support within the United States Congress as well as among the American press corps. It was during this period that he, as an avid art connoisseur, met and became friends with the Indonesian artist Affandi and, over the years, became the single largest American collector of his works. The first meeting with Affandi left such an indelible impression on the collector that upon his return to the United States Joseph Borkin excitedly declared to his family, "I have just met the world's next Van Gogh". Joseph Borkin was convinced that Affandi possessed a unique talent and was the bridge that connected the best of eastern and western art. He was also certain that Asia Pacific was destined to become the next great economic and cultural center of the world. He made the family promise to keep the collection intact until after the artist had been dead for no less than fifteen years as he felt that the work of Affandi would be better appreciated after his death as it was the case with Van Gogh whose brilliance was only truly understood and fully appreciated after his death. Affandi painted portraits of the American leaders who helped champion the cause for Indonesian independence. Examples of these are the portraits of Drew Pearson who was, at the time, the most famous American newspaper columnist and radio commentator, as well as Mr. Borkin himself who, during this period, was known inside and outside of government as Indonesia's best American friend in the west.

Affandi (INDONESIAN, 1907-1990)

A Portrait of Joe Borkin

Details

Affandi (INDONESIAN, 1907-1990)
A Portrait of Joe Borkin
signed with monogram and dated '1967' (lower left)
oil on canvas, unframed
127 x 98.5 cm.

Special notice

“!” Lots imported from outside the EU. The Buyer’s Premium is 37.05% incl. VAT over the first €5,000, plus 31.1% incl. VAT of the Hammer Price between €5,001 and €400,000, plus 21.58% incl. VAT of any amount in excess of €400,001.

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