Art at Auction 1979-80 [antikvár]

PCW: auctioneer extraordinaryFrank HerrmannOn the evening of 15 October 1958 Peter Wilson, in evening dress, climbed into the rostrum of the main gallery at Bond Street, the glare of banked television lamps upon him. Fourteen hundred people had been allocated tickets for the occasion. They included Somerset Maugham, Anthony Quinn, Margot Fonteyn, Kirk Douglas, Lady Churchill and a great multitude of collectors and art dealers from all over the world. Two hours before the sale began the police had to be called to control the mass of people who wanted to gain admission. Only seven items were to be sold: three paintings by Manet; two by Cézanne; one by van Gogh and one by Renoir - all from the collection of the late Jakob Goldschmidt of New York.It was the first occasion on which Sotheby's had held an evening sale since the eighteenth century. Preparations had been long and dramatic. The climax of the sale itself arrived with lot 6, Cézanne's Garçon au gilet rouge (Fig 2), which that night must have become one of the most photographed paintings in the world. Its subtle red tones looked superb against the greens and browns of the huge Brussels tapestry, used as a backdrop behind the rostrum. The bidding started at L20,000 and had within minutes risen to L200,000, then L220,000. That figure was by a great margin the highest price ever offered at auction for a work of art anywhere in the world. Peter Wilson intoned, 'L220,000. What, will no one bid any more?' His tone of voice was that of a man genuinely astonished that a group of buyers of such distinction could let a painting of this quality go for so paltry a sum. A roar of laughter relieved the tension. The hammer came down. There was a momentary pause while people took in the significance of what they had just witnessed. Loud applause followed.The Goldschmidt sale raised L781,000 in twenty-one minutes. It represented a major breakthrough in establishing London as the centre of the international art market. It was also based on an ingenious, albeit risky commission arrangement which required a good deal of nerve and confidence ifit was to be profitable for Sotheby's -two qualities with which 'PCW was blessed in abundance. In the event, the high total brought assured success. From that point onwards, property came to the firm for sale from all over the world in unprecedented quantities.Thirty years of arduous training had prepared Peter Wilson for that moment: Eton, Oxford (briefly), a spell at Renter's, another on the staff of the Connoisseur, acceptance by Sotheby's as a trainee in the furniture department in 1936, the first major sale he organised himself - that of the Edouard Gilhou Collection of antique rings in