Lot 90

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WORKS OF ART FROM THE WALTER AND FIONA GOETZ COLLECTION (LOTS 90-118) Walter Goetz (1911-1995) was born into a German cotton mill owning family whose collection was so great it was partly sold after WWI to pay the British war reparations. Little did they know, that some twenty years later they would be fleeing Germany to escape the Nazi regime. Fortunate for Walter, his English public-school education and artistic flair would prove useful to both the BBC and British government. He spent most of WWII with the secret Political Warfare Executive in designing posters to be airdropped over Germany informing civilians of the horrors of the Third Reich. Goetz even loaned his voice as the translated Neville Chamberlain when war was declared on the BBC German radio broadcast. It was only in his later years that Walter spoke of being chosen to visit Hitler’s bunker, as a trustworthy German speaking Jew with an eye for a good picture, to assess the Führer’s personal art collection. This was onto of guiding the Allied Generals around his native, yet now ruined Berlin. Whilst it is clear he socialised and worked within intelligence and espionage circles with the likes of George (later Lord) Weidenfeld, Sefton Delmer, Alan Moorhead, Alistair Horne and Beresford Clark, the extent of his own work as a spy is yet to be fully discovered. Given his artistic training was ‘cut short’ in Berlin, Walter felt that he never had quite the skill to paint full time, though soon saw a promising career as a cartoonist and illustrator, with commissions arriving from the then art filled magazines of Vogue , Harpers Bazaar , Lilliput and Punch . He also designed posters for Transport for London, book jackets for his widening cultured social circle and perhaps most famously illustrated Pierre Daninos’s ‘Major Thompson’ series of books about a typical English gentleman. He still painted, with exhibitions held at The New Art Centre and Michael Parkin Gallery, though most of his income lately came from dealing in Old Master and Impressionist paintings and sketches. After WWII, Walter spent most of his time in a Parisian apartment in the fashionable 7th arrondissement, where he mingled and painted with the likes of Picasso, Dufy, Utrillo, John Piper, and Osbert Lancaster. Meeting John Piper was possibly the most fruitful of his artistic relationships, the pair often painted together in Wales and Walter was instrumental in overseeing the licensing of Piper’s artwork into signed limited edition prints. The name Goetz appears in most books written either by or about John Piper. Perhaps a ‘perk’ of this friendship was that Walter often had first access to purchase many of Piper’s works and (lot 90 – the following lot) provides a rare insight into Piper’s earlier, somewhat darker palette, which has been in greater demand by collectors in recent years. Walter’s uncle, Richard Goetz led an equally fascinating life, and was widely renowned as having one of the greatest eyes in the mid 20th-century art market. An eccentric, willowy figure who fled to New York after the war, clearly he had an impact on Walter, taking him to museums and galleries a child and proved that dealing could provide a fruitful income. Alongside several Goyas, Richard owned the large still life by Gysbrechts, offered in the sale (lot 97). From just a cursory glance at Walter’s stock books, the names of artists reads like a museum collection; Degas, Delacroix, Picasso, Pissaro, Renoir, Cezanne, Dufy, Manet, Monet, and Gericault, the list continues. A highlight of this sale is the pen, brown ink and oil painting of Samson and Delilah by Théodore Géricault (lot 98). Gericualt proved to be a favourite artist of Walter’s who handled several oils and many sketches during his time as a dealer and collector. He was asked to consult on works in both private and public institutions both in the UK and abroad alongside his American friend the late dealer, collector and connoisseur Eugene Victor Thaw (1927-2018) whose collection was sold at Christie’s New York in 2018. With a penchant for attractive blond aristocrats, it was third time lucky when he married Fiona Muir (1938-2021) - daughter of Sir. John Muir Bt. Fiona’s taste for travel started at an early age, born in Calcutta, the family returned to Scotland just after VE Day, travelling via South Africa to avoid attack from any returning U-boats. After being presented at court in 1956 and a coming out party with over three hundred guests, she was told university just wasn’t an option with several younger brothers to educate, so set sail for Brazil to work at the British Embassy. Early life at the majestic Blair Drummond castle however did train her as a fine cook and vivacious hostess with an eye for beautiful objects and works of art. Attracted to the glamorous and intellectual life that being an art dealer’s wife had to offer, she was regularly called upon to entertain Walter’s international clients and will be fondly remembered for her sumptuous soirees and delicious dinner parties. A woman of impeccable yet comfortable taste, she would decorate their London and Paris homes - dividing their calendar according to the art market - as well as advising clients and friends on interior decoration. Fiona later worked at the Victoria and Albert Museum helping to establish their ‘ Boiler House ’ galleries and occasionally worked as a travel guide with the luxury tour provider Serenissima, escorting groups as far as Egypt, Mongolia and her native India. A selfless lady in many ways, she later cared for her dying husband, aunt, mother and sister along with many others and loyally supported numerous charitable causes. Together Walter and Fiona Goetz had two sons, Sebastian, a director and 19th Century paintings specialist at Christie’s who died in 2016 and Dominic a scientist and climate change activist. Harrison Goldman June 2022 Harrison Goldman was Fiona Goetz ’ s close friend and is working on a biography of Walter Goetz.

JOHN PIPER, C.H. (1903-1992)

Muchelney farmyard

Name: JOHN PIPER, C.H. (1903-1992)
Brand: Muchelney farmyard
Price: 15000.00 GBP
Availability: SoldOut

Price Realised GBP 18,900

Estimate

GBP 12,000 - GBP 18,000

Closed: 19 Jul 2022

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JOHN PIPER, C.H. (1903-1992)

Muchelney farmyard

Price Realised GBP 18,900

Closed: 19 Jul 2022

Price Realised GBP 18,900

Closed: 19 Jul 2022

Details Lot Essay Related Articles More from

JOHN PIPER, C.H. (1903-1992)
Muchelney farmyard
signed 'John Piper' (lower left)
ink, watercolour and gouache on paper
13³⁄₈ x 20⁷⁄₈ in. (34 x 52.7 cm.)
Executed in 1940-41.

Gifted by the artist to Walter Goetz on the occasion of his wedding, circa 1941, and by descent.

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.
Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.

Conditions of Sale
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Benedict WinterAssociate Director, Specialist

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Lot Essay

During 1940 John Piper’s personal style was evolving rapidly and it is from this period that some of his most distinctive and immediately recognisable paintings and mixed media drawings emerged, with the current lot being a particularly characteristic example. Executed during the winter of 1940-41, this work displays a collage-like juxtaposition of forms, colours and textures, reminding us that during most of the 1930s Piper, influenced by the modern movement, was a leading British abstract painter. Meanwhile its palette, atmosphere and subject-matter reflects Piper’s well-documented enthusiasm for the work of Samuel Palmer (1805-1881), a Romantic artist and associate of William Blake; and John Sell Cotman (1782-1842), a topographical painter and etcher who had a special enthusiasm for ancient churches and monastic buildings.

An oil painting which is very closely related to the present lot, inscribed 1941 and also entitled 'Muchelney Farmyard, 1940 (sic.)' (20" x 24") is illustrated (plate 82) in the volume 'John Piper: Paintings, Drawings and Theatre Designs 1932-1954' by S John Woods, published by Curt Valentin in 1955 (unpaginated) and once again referred to in David Fraser Jenkins and Hugh Fowler-Wright, 'The Art of John Piper', Unicorn Publishing and Portland Gallery, 2016, p.171.

Muchelney Abbey, located in the Somerset Levels of Southern England, was once a Benedictine monastic house but the foundation was dissolved under Henry VIII in 1538 and few of its buildings now remain. The site can be still be visited and is under the care of the conservation charity English Heritage.

We are very grateful to Rev. Dr Stephen Laird FSA for preparing this catalogue entry.