The Neuman Collection includes modern art by some of the twentieth century’s most important artists; Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Fernand Léger and André Masson. This collection presents eleven significant works which illustrate the exquisite taste of one collector, Bertil Neuman (1921-2011).
To collect art is an art in itself – to find, select and set limits is a challenge for every collector. The Neuman Collection, presented in this catalogue, shows the taste of a true connoisseur and his effort to choose each work of art, always with a great passion for art and collecting.
The Neuman Collection offers no less than six works by the foremost artist of the twentieth century, Pablo Picasso, where the oil painting, Fillette au béret, from 1964 is the highlight. The six works by Picasso cover different media and time periods in the artist’s life and shows the diversity in his prominent oeuvre.
The collection also includes the impressive gouache, La Thora, by Marc Chagall as well as the interesting Composition from 1938 by Fernand Léger, formerly in the collection of André Lefèvre. Furthermore, the sale offers three intense paintings by André Masson from the late 1960’s and 1970’s.
The majority of the works in the Neuman Collection have originally been sold by Galerie Louise Leiris in Paris, one of the most influential galleries of Modern Art of the twentieth century.
The Neuman family has now decided to offer Bertil Neuman’s collection of International Modern Art for sale at auction. Uppsala Auktionskammare is privileged to present this unique collection. This sale offers a rare and exciting opportunity for collectors and connoisseurs to acquire well-documented works by some of the twentieth century’s most important artists.
My sister Monica and I grew up surrounded by beautiful – and valuable – art.
Our father’s interest originated in his childhood; his own father, Selman Neuman, was one of the most prominent art and antique dealers in Stockholm, among his clients was the crown prince of Sweden, later king Gustav VI Adolf.
Three of Bertil’s older brothers were also in the art and antique trade, one in Gothenburg and two in Stockholm.
But our father chose a different career.
After studies at Handelshögskolan (Stockholm School of Economics) he started a consulting company. In 1946 he was invited to join the first Swedish business delegation to visit America after the war. There he discovered new techniques in the commercial world, such as the use of opinion polls and sales psychology. Later, in Sweden, he established a reputation as a respected pioneer within both these fields. His professional success made a heavy demand on his time, yet there was always room for art.
Our homes, first in Bromma outside Stockholm and later on at Scheelegatan in the city center, were filled with art by distinguished Swedish artists such as Isaac Grünewald and Nils von Dardel.
In the late 1960s our father started to travel more, and he made frequent business trips to France, England and the United States. During longer stays in Paris, London and New York he visited well-known art galleries and auctioneers – and progressively expanded his collection with works by international artists.
During this period his interest in art became more serious, and he devoted time to study, and to develop his taste. From now on he was a frequent visitor to exhibitions, auction viewings and galleries – and chose to acquire modern art, which he understood and appreciated, and which he believed would be valuable in the future.
Our parents’ art collection, by now substantial, was finally on display in their sunlit top floor apartment at Bolindersplan in Stockholm, with a panoramic view of the city. Bertil’s study was filled with works by the Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Hill. In the other rooms hung paintings by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Fernand Léger and André Masson, which are presented in this catalogue.