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A MAN WITH A MISSION On the occasion of the sale of The Frans Leidelmeijer Collection. Pioneer of Dutch Decorative Arts 1880-1940, on Tuesday 16 May 2006 at Christie's Amsterdam. An interview with Frans Leidelmeijer by Mickey Wolfson at the Wolfsonian Foundation in Miami, Florida, on 23 January 2006. MW: Frans, first of all I am thrilled that you came to Miami for an interview by me. Since we first met, I think in the early eighties, I have always been an admirer of your original taste. FL: My pleasure completely of course! We met in 1983, when you walked into my gallery. I remember thinking: Well, there's another American who's looking for couleur locale but will never buy. Apart from that, I was in a bad mood because a leakage affected part of my stock. But you fell in love with one of the damaged items immediately, a portfolio stand by Theo Neuhuys with batik parchment. You had it restored beautifully, and of course we became friends after that. MW: Could you tell me what you did before? Have you always wanted to be a dealer in Dutch 20th century avant-garde art? FL: Of course not. First I wanted to become a fashion-designer and later I dreamed of being a ballet-dancer. As it turned out, both didn't suit me that well. My last job before opening a shop in 1971 was being a male nurse for mentally ill people. A few years later I was joined by my partner Daan van der Cingel who quit a very demanding job in the information technology. MW: If I'm not mistaken, you can claim in your blood Javanese, German, Dutch and Chinese genes - was this of any influence on your career? FL: In the beginning I wasn't conscious about that at all. I was born in Bandung, then called the Paris of Java. I took the many beautiful buildings from the twenties and the thirties done by Dutch and Indonesian-Dutch architects for granted, and realised only later that this had trained my eye from an early stage. In Holland, I noticed that many people did not like the styles in 20th Century Dutch design, whereas I who came from another country saw the same objects with a fresh eye. Studying it, I discovered the inspiration by Indonesian art, for example in the batik that originally came from Java. Needless to say this made it all the more interesting for me! MW: I trust you were a success from the beginning? FL: Not at all! That is to say: I made a good living out of French and Austrian art nouveau and art deco. And I was very successful in acquiring Dutch decorative design from the same period; just a few people wanted it and the objects were inexpensive. But for the same reason, I could hardly sell a piece. From then on, it became our goal to make these objects better known, also internationally. In 1983 Daan and I wrote our first book, mainly about our own collection, which I am proud to say was sort of an eye-opener for a lot of people. In the beginning I saw collectors on fairs going around with this book in their hands. MW: So, did that realise your ambition? FL: Well, having a brilliant time doing it, could one ask for more? I was privileged to sell to major Dutch institutions like the Rijksmuseum, the Stedelijk Museum and the The Hague Museum. In Europe I sold to the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Centre Pompidou, in the USA to the MOMA, the Metropolitan Museum, the Cooper Hewitt Museum and the Cleveland Museum. And of course I welcomed many many collectors like yourself in my shop. MW: Collectors like the Dutch Queen? FL: How did you hear of that?? But yes, she made a little pilgrimage to my shop buying collector's items for dear friends. MW: May I ask how the death of your partner affected your work? FL: Yes - I was devastated. In the beginning I wanted to close the gallery, with so much heart ripped out of it with the shop. But after the first shock I realised that I wanted to complete our mission. I also remember you invited me to come to Miami to recover, which I appreciated very much. After that I was invited to be an expert in Tussen Kunst en Kitsch, the Dutch Antiques Roadshow. Hard work and a bit of success proved a good medicine to recover from the grief. MW: Why stop when your shop gives you so much pleasure and success? What are you going to do? FL: For one, I think you should leave when you are on your peak. And secondly, I am not really leaving. I will close my shop to have more time for myself and will, as an art dealer on a more private base, expand my interest to the 21st Century, after being in the 20th Century for so many years. MW: May I end with an understatement: a job well done? FL: I'm honoured you feel that way. But let me reply: there's more to come. MORNING SESSION TUESDAY 16 MAY 2006 AT 10.30 AM (LOTS 1-140)

Chris van der Hoef for Amstelhoek

AN INTARSIO GLAZED POTTERY VASE

Details

Chris van der Hoef for Amstelhoek
AN INTARSIO GLAZED POTTERY VASE
With stylised floral inlaid intarsio motif on both sides
38 cm. high
Intarsio artist's monogram

Special notice

Christie's charge a premium to the buyer on the final bid price of each lot sold at the following rates: 23.8% of the final bid price of each lot sold up to and including €150,000 and 14.28% of any amount in excess of €150,000. Buyers' premium is calculated on the basis of each lot individually.

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