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Lot Essay
This sensitively modeled head of Buddha Shakyamuni demonstrates the serene, naturalist qualities of Buddhist art from the Gandharan period. Buddha's rounded face is finely modeled with a still expression. His bow-shaped mouth and heavy-lidded, almond-shaped eyes beneath arched eyebrows suggest a deeply meditative state. Rows of wavy tendrils rise over the ushnisha, a sign of his supreme enlightenment.
Otto Wittmann Jr. (1911-2001) played an outsized role in the development of American museums over the course of the twentieth century. Born in Kansas City, Wittmann first became fascinated with art while attending Harvard University, where he organized exhibitions as a senior with Perry Rathbone (the future director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) and later took the famed “Museum Work and Museum Problems” course with Professor Paul J. Sachs. In 1941, Wittmann was drafted in to the U.S. Army and later became the Officer in Charge of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), where he traveled to Europe several times to investigate the Nazi looting of art as part of the famed “Monuments Men.” Upon his return to the U.S. in 1946, Wittmann began a thirty-year career at the Toledo Museum of Art, including as its director, beginning in 1959. At Toledo, Wittmann organized several landmark exhibitions including France: The Splendid Century (1961) and The Age of Rembrandt (1966); his tenure was also marked by a number of important acquisitions that transformed Toledo into one of the most important institutions in America. Following his retirement in 1976, Wittmann then served as the chair of the acquisitions committee at the J. Paul Getty Museum, where he was also acting Chief Curator from 1980-1983.
Otto Wittmann Jr. (1911-2001) played an outsized role in the development of American museums over the course of the twentieth century. Born in Kansas City, Wittmann first became fascinated with art while attending Harvard University, where he organized exhibitions as a senior with Perry Rathbone (the future director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) and later took the famed “Museum Work and Museum Problems” course with Professor Paul J. Sachs. In 1941, Wittmann was drafted in to the U.S. Army and later became the Officer in Charge of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), where he traveled to Europe several times to investigate the Nazi looting of art as part of the famed “Monuments Men.” Upon his return to the U.S. in 1946, Wittmann began a thirty-year career at the Toledo Museum of Art, including as its director, beginning in 1959. At Toledo, Wittmann organized several landmark exhibitions including France: The Splendid Century (1961) and The Age of Rembrandt (1966); his tenure was also marked by a number of important acquisitions that transformed Toledo into one of the most important institutions in America. Following his retirement in 1976, Wittmann then served as the chair of the acquisitions committee at the J. Paul Getty Museum, where he was also acting Chief Curator from 1980-1983.