2021 SOCIETY REPORT TO MEMBERS

Saluto a tutti!

Here’s our capsule annual “Society Report to Members,” recapping a busy 2021.

Image: Teahub

WEBSITE

We originally intended to publish a paperback Guidebook to Montici mosaics, but quickly pivoted to a website instead, due to its ability to update information on the fly; use videos; and interact 24/7/365 with Society members worldwide.

The Society launched its public website in January 2021, and it immediately attracted a global following of Montici art lovers. In its inaugural year, we hosted over 2,700 visitors from 35 U.S. states, and 23 foreign countries. We also recorded over 6,600 page views.

We expected visitors from North America and Europe, and they understandably led this online, international parade –the top six countries in terms of visitors in 2021 included the U.S, Canada, Italy, France, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, in that order. But to our surprise, we also attracted visitors from Asia and Africa, including China, Taiwan, Australia; Russia and the Ukraine; Turkey and the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East; and Uganda and the Cameroon in Africa.

Richard Blow exported and sold most of his Florentine mosaic artworks to the United States, but Italians also collected his works. We were pleased to host site visitors from 17 different Italian cities in 2021, led by Ancona, Roma, and Firenze.

Within the U.S, the click brigade was led by Montici appassionati from Texas, Ohio, Virginia, New York, Connecticut, and California, in that order.

Richard Blow, 1971. MSID “Occult Images”

CATALOGUED ARTWORKS

Our database of catalogued Richard Blow art has grown to 336 artworks

NOTABLE CORRESPONDENCE

We received several interesting research requests this past year: In June 2021, the Society received an inquiry from Sig. Giuseppe Addesso, an Art Historian in Milan doing research on the famous traveling exhibit “Italy at Work: Her Renaissance in Design Today,” that launched the iconic 1950-1951 “Made in Italy” branding movement. Richard Blow showcased his new Montici mosaics in this exhibit, alongside Salvatore Ferragamo and Guccio Gucci. Addesso is also exploring the possibility of doing his Ph.D.  thesis on Richard Blow and his Montici mosaics.  In November 2021, we receive an inquiry from Mitchell Owens, former decorative arts editor at Architectural Digest. and currently a freelance writer, editor and design consultant who co-hosts style-related cultural tours internationally with the members-only luxury travel company Indagare. He is researching a biography of Pauline, Baroness de Rothschild, an American fashion designer who married Baron Philippe de Rothschild, owner of the fabled French winery Château Mouton Rothschild. His research had turned up another American linked to the Baroness’ life – French Countess Reine de Roussy de Sales (nee Reine Tracy in New York City).  The Countess Reine once managed Richard Blow’s Montici Gallery in New York City (See Michael’s Blog, 12.02.21).

In August 2021, the Society welcomed noted arts/antiques dealer Adam Blackman as a new Society member from Los Angeles. “In the annals of creative twosomes, there’s Lennon and McCartney, Watson and Crick, Christo and Jean-Claude. And in the world of high-end collectible design, there’s Blackman and Cruz...(they) have been fixtures of the Los Angeles design scape ever since they opened their gallery-atelier-emporium, Blackman Cruz, in 1993.” (Amanda Fortini, New York Times, Style Magazine, April 2015). As Adam noted in his email to us, “I’ve always loved Montici pieces. plaques, obelisks and boxes. I've been collecting for years. Excited to meet like-minded passionate collectors.”

The Society sends a special thank you to Jeff Greenberg for agreeing to be our Collector Profile #1 (See “Michael’s Blog, 09.14.21).

Bruno Lastrucci in his shop.

Last but not least, the Society extends a heartfelt Happy New Year to our Italian friends Bruno Lastrucci and family; and the staff at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence.  Grazie mille for your encouragement  and invaluable help in making the2021 launch of the Montici Society a success!

Michael Schmicker

Could Your Excellency Wrap It Too?

I knew royalty bought Richard Blow’s Montici mosaics.

But I didn’t know nobility worked behind the counter to sell them.

European royalty attended Richard’s first marriage in Paris in 1926, and aristocrats across the pond regularly scooped up his pietra dura art. In recent years, as that generation passes, their upper crust acquisitions occasionally pop up at auction, like this Fiaschi Sagittarius mosaic below, ex-collection of the late British aristocrat Lady Diana Cooper, Viscountess of Norwich (mosaic $3,250 hammer price, by Clars Auction Gallery, Dec. 2020. On the left is Lady Diana.)

 But a titled blue-blood running Richard’s Manhattan shop?  

I recently received an email from Mitchell Owens, former decorative arts editor at Architectural Digest. and currently a freelance writer, editor and design consultant who co-hosts style-related cultural tours internationally with the members-only luxury travel company Indagare. He is researching a biography of Pauline, Baroness de Rothschild, an American fashion designer and divorcee (nee Pauline Potter) who married Baron Philippe de Rothschild, owner of the fabled French winery Château Mouton Rothschild.

No, it wasn’t the Baroness who worked for Richard.

His research had turned up another American divorcee linked to the Baroness’ life – French Countess Reine de Roussy de Sales (nee Reine Tracy in New York City).  The author understood from his research that the Countess once managed Richard Blow’s Montici Gallery in New York City. His question: Could I confirm what she did there and how long she was associated with Montici?

Wow. A Countess managed Richard’s Manhattan gallery? Complete surprise. I spent three years researching Richard’s life and career, and not once had I come across her name.  

Could it be?

I started googling the Countess Reine

In short order, I had her New York Times obit. Jan. 19, 1966. Reine de Roussy de Sales, Marble Importer, Was 74.  The Times story noted that “The Countess, whose maiden name was Reine Tracy, operated the Montici Gallery at 156 East 64th St.”

Interesting…

Richard imported ‘marble” (mosaics) to America?

Check.

In the 1950s, Richard operated galleries in three different New York City locations -- was one on 64th?

Check. We’ve got a gallery brochure confirming it

The information was published in a reputable national newspaper known for vetting its facts?

Check.

OK. The Countess worked for Montici selling mosaics.

But how on earth did she end up working there?

I don’t know, but I can paint a plausible scenario: Our Countess Reine was a New York City native.  Her first husband was a Wall Street insurance broker with a house on Park Ave. So she was “well-bred,” with some access to the upper ranks.  Her aristocratic second husband, Count Raoul, was a famous French journalist and author who moved to the U.S. in 1932. Reine and her husband lived in Manhattan many years (he died there in 1942, during WWII). Reine was a socially registered part of New York society; and, like Richard, she moved in artistic circles – she and her husband were friends with famous artists like Cubist painter/sculptor Marcel Duchamp and renowned photographer Man Ray (iconic portraits of Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, James Joyce, Peggy Guggenheim, etc.). Most importantly, Richard Blow’s second wife Marya Mannes was friends with Count Raoul, and Richard would have certainly have met them.  Post-WWII, Richard moved into mosaics in Italy, but he traveled constantly to New York to market his works.  When he decided to open his own Manhattan showroom, who better to help him launch it than someone he knew —the American-born, New York bred, titled French Countess familiar with the city’s rich art collectors? As for her, she was a widow at that point. Helping Richard import and market his art could be interesting, fun. Why not give it a whirl?

Count Raoul playing chess with artist Marcel Duchamp. Photo by Man Ray (1925).

It’s even possible Richard and Reine may have known each other for years. Both were Americans who got married in Paris in the 20s, just a year apart, and both weddings made the society pages. The wealthy American colony in the City of Light was small and tight, so it’s not a stretch to imagine they first crossed paths there.

In the end, how Reine de Roussy de Sales ended up working for Richard is all pure speculation on my part.

But did a French Countess really once manage Richard’s Manhattan Montici gallery?

Senza dubbio!

Michael Schmicker

P.S.  My thanks to Mitchell Owens for alerting me to this surprising story!

Heart Art

Richard Blow exuded sophistication and cool, all Cole Porter and Noel Coward.

His mosaics are tightly composed and cerebrally-crafted, rather than “mad artist” emotional eruptions. He’s great at geometrics, still life, pinned butterflies, educated homage and allusions to various art movements and classical mythology.

That intrinsic order is one reason why I Iove his work.

But when he turns to matters of the heart – or at least heart-themed mosaics – I’m not impressed.

It’s an admittedly small sample. Our Society database includes only two.

The first one I came across was the muddy, unappealing “Pierced Heart.” (see above) The dull, brown background; too-realistic meaty flesh; and neon green arrow just don’t work for me. It evokes images of a run-down hospital.. But as my old, high-school Latin teacher taught us many years ago, “De gustibus non est disputandum.”  Taste is personal. Indeed, when the mosaic came up for auction by Wright in October 2014, it fetched $3,500. Some Montici collector loved it.

This week, a second, heart-themed Montici mosaic popped up for sale. (MSID “Seven Hearts”)

MSID: “Seven Hearts”

Again, I’m underwhelmed.

The gray background is boring. The color palette used for the hearts is a hodgepodge. The size and positioning of the hearts seems random. But again, at $1,000, the asking price is modest; it’s a rare, signed Richard Blow; and it sold immediately, the same day, to a happy Montici collector.

Still, I can’t help thinking about the year that ”Seven Hearts” was executed – 1968.

1968 was the height of the Hippie era, famous for sexual and artistic experimentation, passion, free love, LSD, and back-to-the-earth, flower children.  Psychedelic hearts exploded from posters and paintings in a riot of bold, spontaneous, emotional, colors.

Vintage Psychedelic Blacklight Poster Titled FLOWER LOVE from the year 1969.

It was all right before Richard’s eyes.

 He had experimented with multiple art forms during his career, moving from realism to cubism, to abstract, to surreal, to metaphysical. The 1960s offered him a brand-new iconography and color palette to play with.

Beatles song poster

It’s fun to imagine an alternative “Seven Hearts” mosaic — exhuberant, psychedelic — a crowning burst of creativity from the 64-year-old (in 1968) artist. (“Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m 64?” )

Who knows -- maybe Richard did produce one; we just haven’t uncovered it yet.

Wouldn’t that be “groovy!”

Michael Schmicker

How's It Made?

A Society member recently emailed me:

“Exactly how is a Montici mosaic made?”

I explain the mosaic-making process in words on the “Authentication & Valuation” page, but she wanted a video:

“It’s the 21st century, Michael. Get with it,” she laughed.

Got it.

I did a Web search and quickly discovered two great YouTube videos. They show the Montici mosaic production process in action, delivering a more colorful, exciting, and comprehensible explanation than my boring Boomer block of type.

The first is a short, 5-minute video produced in 2018.  Bruno Lastrucci demonstrates how the Montici Workshop created its famous pietra dura mosaics. Bruno served as Richard’s mosaics maestro for many years. He was also a close, personal friend of Richard. For Bruno’s full biography, see the “Members Only” page on this website.

The second is a slightly longer, 7-minute video released in 2020.  It features the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (Workshop of Semi-Precious Stones), an institute of the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage. Based in Florence, the Opificio traces its history back to 1588, and its creation by Grand Duke Ferdinando I de Medici.  Richard Blow produced his 20th century Montici mosaics using the same 16-th century techniques developed by the Opificio.

For convenience, I have also added a new, drop-down tab called “Making a Mosaic” to the main menu on the Home Page. You can access the videos via that tab as well.

Buon divertimento!

Michael Schmicker

Collector Profiles #1 : Jeff Greenberg

For art lover Jeff Greenberg, it was an eye opener.

Jeff studied Agronomy in his one semester of college before dropping out and apprenticing as an optician in the 1970s, helping clients see clearly.  But it was his good friend Bill Cervera who opened Jeff’s eyes to the joys of Art Deco.

“We both lived in Westchester, a suburb of New York City, and I was dating a close friend of his, so when we visited him I soaked up the inspiration from his wonderful things,”” Jeff explains. “I’ve been dealing in ‘modern’ ever since.”

About that same time, Jeff also discovered the joys of browsing flea markets and estate sales (a very popular weekend summer pastime in metro NYC), exposing him to a wide range of art and home furnishings, and training his eye.

“I never had any formal art training. But my parents were always taking me and my sister to the city to see exhibits at the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney, the Met, and the magical Guggenheim – those trips were the singular, initial reason for my passion for modern art and design. Those were highly advanced studies for a kid, looking, back at it now.”

Jeff credits Mark Isaacson — one of three co-founders of the legendary ‘80s Manhattan gallery Fifty/50 along with Mark Mcdonald and and Ralph Cutler. — with introducing him to Montici mosaics. Isaacson was a prominent collector of many facets of 20th century design, including midcentury furniture, Italian art glass, 20th century photography, and African art.

“His apartment was full of the most beautiful and important items. On one wall were two, really interesting little surreal paintings. But as I got closer, to my surprise, I saw they were actually pictures made out of finely cut-out pieces of colored stones. I asked what they were. ‘Oh, those things,’ he replied. ‘They’re pietra dura; they’re from Italy, from the 1950s..’ And that was that. There was so much to look at that my eyes yanked me away to a Carlo Molino chair.”

It wasn’t until years later, in the late ‘80s or early ‘90s, that he actually bought his first Richard Blow Montici mosaic.

MSID: “Cat at Waterpump”

“It was a cat next to an old-fashioned Italian water pump. I found it at a little thrift shop, and bought it for $12. It had the little ‘M’ logo on it. I thought it was the Herman Miller logo. I showed it to Mark McDonald, “Mr. Mid-Century Modern” who was another co-founder of Fifty/50. I told him I have a cat plaque by Herman Miller. He laughed and told me the ‘M’ stood for ‘Montici,’ and told me all about it.  He mentioned that ‘Mark I’, as his friends called his partner, had a few Montici pieces. It was quite a first piece to find. Issacson had recently died, and I felt something very special about that plaque – a connection.” (Editor’s note: the $12 cat sold for $3,000 in October 2019 as part of the Wright/Edelsberg auction).

“As I began to research Montici art, I found very little information, but my eyes were now officially opened to them,” says Jeff. “The Montici works had far finer workmanship than other 20th century Florentine pietra dura works, plus I loved the surrealist and modernist style of their designs and themes. After that, I started scouring the internet, shows, and dealers, and eventually Italy itself.

“Oddly, when traveling through Italy, none of the dealers I visited had heard of Montici or Richard Blow. Fortunately, when I got to Florence, I visited a few shops that were selling pietra dura plaques with traditional themes, and at the Menegatti shop I found someone willing to share some information, but very guarded at first. Richard Blow was very special to them, both as a person and an artist. I speak very little Italian – basic at best – and the Menegatti shopkeeper’s English was not a lot better.  But I could understand from the shopkeeper’s face and tone of voice that Richard Blow was a real force in his heyday, and they had done work for Richard. As we talked, and he reminisced about Richard, he could sense I had a similar admiration for Richard and his Montici art. I asked him if they had any Montici pieces, and they pulled out a plaque with a double image — a fish, and a balance scale.

MSID: “Fish and scale plaque”

“There was no M logo or signature, but he said it was a genuine Richard Blow Montici.  They also said they had a number of Blow’s paintings – which were used as designs for Montici mosaics -- but I would need to come back another time. When I returned, they brought out some 20 paintings, all beautiful, and I chose two. 

MSID: “Greenberg Balance Serpent Arches Painting”

MSID: “Greenberg Lion Oil Painting”

“Over the years, I eventually amassed a collection of probably 25 Montici pieces – 15 of which ended up in the historic 2019 Wright auction of the Adam Edelsberg collection. At that point, I had sold off most of my Montici collection.

“Prices have certainly soared over the years since I put together my collection.  Up until the Wright auction, the highest price I achieved for one of my Montici pieces was $6,500, back in 2008 for the “Centaurs” mosaic.

“One of my favorite Blow Montici works, a pair of swirling geometrics, was acquired by David Lackey, the Houston, Texas antiques dealer famous as an appraiser for the popular PBS TV program “Antiques Road Show.”

MSID: “Black and White Spiral #1”

MSID: “Black and White Spiral #2”

Jeff is happy to see Richard Blow’s artwork again being recognized and snapped up by a completely new generation of Montici lovers. 

But it’s also bittersweet.

The art he discovered, and still loves, is climbing beyond his price range.

“I acquired my collection at a time when Montici mosaics were much more affordable. I’m spoiled a bit by buying them at those modest prices. I would love to continue to collect them, but it’s pretty tough for me to still be a collector at the prices they’re selling for now.”

Michael Schmicker

Slow Posts Ahead

All::

Summer is here, and a fading COVID is giving me wanderlust.

I will continue to regularly update the “Market Report,” but I will be taking my usual seasonal break from blogging. I’m double-vaccinated and off to do a little traveling. Absent a blockbuster Montici auction, my commentary can wait.

Wherever you live, may your summer be fun!

Michael Schmicker

Montici Lamps?

What a surprise.

Until this morning, I didn’t even know Richard Blow designed lamps and coasters.

I knew he created small boxes, obelisks, table tops and pictures (another term for his wall mosaics).. But lamps? And coasters to put under drinks?

The antique Montici PR flyer above confirms it.

We have over 300 Montici artworks logged in our Society database. But not a single lamp or coaster. I can understand the missing coasters. They would be cheaper to buy, easier to scratch or mar, and more likely to be tossed after a few years of use. They might make it to a garage sale at best.

But lamps are more expensive to produce, more elegant, more sturdy, more collectable. Richard Blow exhibited his mosaic boxes at MOMA in 1949 alongside a Noguchi desk lamp. So it’s not surprising that Richard might have been inspired to design lamps too. Lamps are always collectable. Isamu Noguchi lamps regularly appear at auction, and sell for $3,000-$5,000.

We know Richard created lamps.

We know they are eminently collectable.

So where are they, folks?

Michael Schmicker

Sorry, Richard

A charming, 1950s (?) Montici paper promotional sticker..

Richard Blow used a variety of terms to describe his mosaic artworks, including “ mosaico Fiorentino,” (Florentine mosaic); “pietra dura” (hard stone); and and “pietre intarsiate” (inlaid stones). Judging by his advertising, Richard personally preferred the more elegant and descriptive “pietre intarsiate.” Unfortunately, the art galleries and auction houses largely preferred “pietra dura” — perhaps because it’s easier to say and remember..

In the end, Richard lost the lexicographical battle.

Today, if you’re doing a Google search for Montici mosaics, we suggest you start with “pietra dura” as the descriptor.

Sorry, Richard.

Michael Schmicker

Home is Where the Heart Is

Richard loved Villa Piazza Calda.

The artist spent most of his life — 46 years — living in the elegant Renaissance villa he lovingly restored with the help of famous English architect Cecil Pinsent. They added beautiful terraced gardens, citrus greenhouses, stone stairs, renovated the interior and, once done, Richard filled it with his favorite furniture and artwork., creating a stylish and comfortable refuge where he could happily live, work, and entertain .

My mother Rayanna and sister Rosemary visited Richard in 1969, and spent a wonderful day there, exploring the Montici workshop, roaming the gardens, and dining with him later that evening.

The photo above, from our family archives, gives you a glimpse of Richard at home. Rosemary and a smiling Richard are enjoying an espresso and game of backgammon after dinner. in the Villa’s living room. His personal touch and taste is everywhere — Oriental rugs on the floor; a soft, white sofa in front of an large fireplace; sea shells (a favorite subject of his art) gracing the mantelpiece; beautiful art on the walls; fresh-cut flowers on the coffee table.

The Italians would say Richard cut a ‘bella figura..” . It means to “make a good impression” through your manners, language, taste, style, gestures, clothes. It’s a high compliment, and a perfect description of Richard that evening .

Michael Schmicker

“

Say Ciao to The Beach Boy

Celebration time, all.

It’s hard to find a new Montici mosaic not already in our Society database.  

But thanks to Montici collector Jeff Greenberg in Vermont, for the first time in five months we finally have one, and I must say it’s an interesting one..

I like the bold orange colors, and the peculiar lighting — shadows on the golden sand, cast by an off-scene sun, oddly incongruent with the heavy gray horizon. It changes the vibe psychologically. The surreal, one-armed figure stands at attention like a soldier. The pink plume streaming off the head, coupled with the spear, remind me of a Roman centurion.  So I think I will give this mosaic the Montici Society ID (MSID) “Centurion Beach Boy.”

We’ve got one piece in our Montici database that closely echoes “Centurion Beach Boy.”

“Water Pump” (MSID) came on the market in Jan. 2018.  It’s a rather large work at 14.25 x 8.75 inches. Auctioneer Rago set an estimated price of $2500- $3500, it sold for $4,000 (hammer price). Calderani executed the mosaic and signed it "MADE IN ITALY VIII-1959 CALDERANI-28.”   

Antique American hand water pump .I checked on Google images and found similar hand pumps used in Italy

Did the two have a common inspiration? Pure speculation, but I can envision Richard Blow rambling around the Italian countryside one day, spying a farm water pump with a stick humorously leaning against it, sparking his artistic imagination in multiple directions. You start with a prosaic water pump, and you end up with a surreal centurion..

Grazie mille, Jeff, from all of us, for the exciting, new addition to our database!

Michael Schmicker

PS: I’ll soon be posting a profile of Jeff, featuring his entertaining art collecting stories; and his perspective on the Montici mosaic market today.  Expect it in the next week or so.

Blow Guns

Don’t shoot the messenger.

The question of guns in America is a polarizing topic. We each have our own opinion on the issue. But  I would like to focus this blog  solely on Richard Blow and his mosaics.

Why did he create artworks featuring guns (and knives)? Because it was an accepted part of American culture in his day.

Richard grew up in a different America than today. It was mostly rural, wide open spaces. In 1904, when he was born, the United States population was only 82 million – just one fourth of today’s 330 million. Five of today’s states were still frontier territories. It didn’t become majority urban until 1920 (today, 80% of us live in cities). Back then, people used rifles to hunt for food, and handguns for personal protection (law enforcement in rural areas was spotty).. Blow himself was on his high school’s Rifle Team at Lawrenceville School.

When Richard was creating his pistol mosaics in the 1950s, guns were much less controversial.

Cowboy and Indian films dominated the American silver screen in the Fifties, featuring stars like John Wayne and Gary Cooper. In the Wild West, everybody holstered a six-shooter – sheriffs, outlaws, gamblers, soldiers, settlers, ranchers.  When Richard was creating mosaics in the 1950s, guns were part of our national mythology.

In music as well as films.

In 1951, the classic American Christmas song “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” first hit the radio airwaves. .Its lyrics include: “…Hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots is the wish of Barney and Ben…”  Hopalong Cassidy was an immensely popular fictional cowboy character appearing in western films, and later on NBC-TV, into the 1960s.  Hopalong carried a gun; American boys – including me --wanted to be like their hero. The Christmas I turned six, I got both pistol and boots from my parents. The pistol shot tiny, gunpowder caps.  

The classic American holiday film “A Christmas Story” set in 1940, features a nine-year old boy dreaming of getting a Red Ryder BB air rifle.  The film’s  popularity stems partly from nostalgic Baby Boomers (like myself), who played with Red Ryder BB guns as kids (I got mine at age 10).  Mothers worried we would shoot out an eye, but fathers overruled.

Knives were also part of growing up as a boy in 1950s America. TV hero Davey Crockett carried a big Bowie Knife.  I and every boy I knew carried a foldable jack knife in their pocket. You used it to cut branches, slice an apple, carve your initials on a barn door, or play a popular knife-throwing game called Mumblety Peg.

My point in all this?

It was a different era.

It was both culturally acceptable and smart marketing for Richard to create Montici mosaics featuring guns and knives during the 1950s and 60s.

Richard understood marketing. If he were going to be successful in re-inventing Florentine mosaics, he needed to produce sellable artworks that appealed to his two primary markets – the United States and Italy ( gun-slinging Hollywood Westerns were very popular with Italian movie goers as well -- Italian film director Sergio Leone produced a series of popular, spin-off “Spaghetti Westerns” in the 1960s).

But beyond just helping keep his Montici studio solvent, Richard didn’t seem to have much interest in the theme of pistols.

Among the 300+ mosaics in our Society database, only four feature guns.

The first mosaic is shown at the top of this blog.

Richard created “Two Pistols” (title by Richard) in 1970. He included it in the 25 mosaics he donated to Oregon State University. It’s value at the time of donation was listed as $470. The revolver looks to be the classic 19th-century Colt 45 “Peacemaker.” The smaller gun is another Wild West classic – a pocket Remington derringer. This suggests to me that Blow deliberately chose guns with the broadest, mass-market appeal.  It was a business decision, not an artistic one.  The only non-realistic element in this mosaic is the weird circle in the top left of the mosaic. It appears completely out of place. I have no idea what it is, or why it’s there. Is it supposed to represent the mouth of the barrel of a gun? If you have a guess, send me a note. I’m truly baffled.

The second mosaic in our Society database “Pistol and Derringer #1” (MSID) is a close variant of the OSU “Two Pistols” mosaic.  The derringer is flipped right side up and sports a pearl handle instead of the OSU green grip; but the guns are the same – Colt 45 pistol and Remington derringer. Myers Fine Art auctioned this work off in Feb. 2019. It had an estimated price of $1,000-$1,500; it sold for $2,000 (including buyer’s premium). Nine months later, in November 2019, the same piece – or a very close variant – came on the market via First Dibs with an asking price of $6,800. It may have sold in December 2019. I have emailed the seller to see if I can find the price it sold for.

The third pistol mosaic in our Society database is “Pistol and Derringer #2” (MSID).  It’s a very close variant of Pistol and Derringer #1. The guns are the same, but the derringer has a green handle instead of pearl.  It showed up in the Wright-Edelsberg auction of October 2019 (Lot 111) with an estimated price of $2,500-$3,000. But buyers passed on it. It remained unsold.

The fourth pistol mosaic, “Pistol and Knife #1” (MSID), features a knife instead of a derringer. We first spotted this mosaic on Pinterest. It didn’t include any information. A few months later, it showed up along with “Pistol and Derringer #2” as part of the blockbuster October 2019 Wright-Edelsberg auction (Lot 121)). Both mosaics had been acquired by collector Adam Edelsberg.

The knife looks like a Bowie knife. Perhaps Blow was inspired to add a Bowie knife by the popular 1950s Walt Disney TV series “Davey Crockett” (1954-55). Crockett carried a Bowie knife. During the TV series two-year run, Americans bought $300 million worth of Davie Crockett-themed merchandise. Was Richard trying to capitalize on this craze? The mosaic is dated 1968, years after the original TV series aired. But the TV series was rebroadcasted n the 1960s on NBC.

In any event, in 2019, Wright set the estimated price for this mosaic at a steep $4,000-$6,000. But like “Pistol and Derringer #2, it failed to find a buyer at all.

I can understand buyers passing at a price of $,4000-$6,000, even with a Blow signature on the back. Eight months earlier, the Meyers pistol only fetched $2,000.  But the second Wright-Edelsberg pistol had a low estimate of $2,500, very close to the Myers. It also failed to sell.

Interesting.

Perhaps the gun theme for most Montici collectors is approaching toxicity. In 2019, there were 434 gun shootings, resulting in 517 deaths and 1,643 injuries, for a total of 2,160 victims.  

I’m curious to see the price fetched when the next Montici gun mosaic comes to market.

Michael Schmicker

POST SCRIPT

On June 14, 2022, I came across a fifth pistol mosaic, “Ghost Town” (MSID). The mosaic was featured in a Time magazine article dated Dec. 31, 1951 that was attached to the verso of another Montici mosaic put up for auction.  It features the standard pistol and derringer, but also four playing cards, suggesting a gambler’s game. The magazine article notes: “Blow reports especially encouraging sales in Texas. ‘Poeple from Texas are crazy about designs of pistols and playing cards.”

"Bid or Pass" Game #2

Here we go again!

As before, the rules of the game are simple:

1) I select from the “Market Watch” page one Montici artwork currently being offered for sale.

2) I do a comparative market analysis on the work.

3) Society Members vote whether they would “Bid” or “Pass” on it at the seller’s asking price.

Ready to play? Andiamo!

Montici artwork for Sale: “Pear #5” (MSID)

Asking Price: Starting bid: $950.  Price: $1,240 (buy it now)

Dealer:  eBay

Seller: “Electrobeam7.” Has a 100% positive feedback rating on EBay.

Analysis:   Still life Montici mosaics always sell well.

Indeed, in terms of highest prices achieved, they’re second only to “Hands” as a Montici genre. In our Society database, we have logged 15 Montici still life mosaics publicly sold between 2000-2019. The lowest price paid was $500, for MSID “Nine Fruits #5”. It was auctioned off way back in Sept. 2010 by Michaan’s Auctions in California, before the explosive rise in Montici prices The highest was $16,250 fetched by MSID “Fruit Medley” in the historic Wright-Edelsber.g auction of October 2019

 This work was executed and signed by Giuseppe Fiaschi. Fiaschi did multiple Montici fruit mosaics, and he did them very well. They tend to be small pieces – 4 inches or under.  Our Society database includes eight Fiaschi fruit still life works -- three different fig mosaics plus four Fiaschi variations of this current eBay Pear offering.

If we are correct in our identification of variants, “Pear #1” (MSID) twice sold for $2,000. The first time was by Rago in April 2008.  In 2019, the same --or an almost exact variant --sold for $2,000 at the Wright-Edelsberg auction. (Lot 129). Pear #1 is fractionally smaller, at 3.75 x 2.25 inches, than our new EBay pear which measures 4.0 x 2.375 inches, by sight (unframed).

“Pear” #2 (MSID) sold three times between 2008-2019, if we’re correct. It came up first in April 2008 as part of a two-lot offering from Rago that also included a Fiaschi fig mosaic. The pair fetched $3,000. In October 2014 Pear #2 came on the auction block as part of a three-lot combination which included Pear #1 plus a Fiaschi fig. The three-lot offering from Wright fetched $3,048 with premium. Finally, in November, 2019, Pear #2 reappeared on First Dibs – alone this time – sporting an asking price of $4,800.  I’m trying to find out more information on what happened to this piece.

Pear #3 (MSID) is a very close variation to Pear #5. It has a yellow center seed vs. the red center seed of Pear #5; but overall is very similar in color palette, making it a good comparable. It appeared first in October 2011, as part of a three-lot package with Pear #4 and a fish mosaic. This combo auctioned by Rago fetched $2,232. In Nov. 2015, it sold as a solo piece on EBay for $895. Four years later, in October 2019, it again sold as a single work, fetching $2,000 as Lot 125 of the Wright-Edelsberg auction.

We only have a fuzzy photo of Pear #4. It was part of the Pear #3, three-lot combination sold in 2011 for $2,232.

Your turn — Would you BID OR PASS?

Would you bid or pass on this Montici mosaic for $1,240?

Michael Schmicker

P.S. As promised, here are the results for “Bid or Pass? Game #1” (see March 12, 2021 blog. Five Montici Society members responded.

Four passed on the artwork for their personal collection; one liked it very much, but not at the $6,000 asking price.

Three passed on it as an investment; the fourth would bid $2,500 ;and the fifth liked it enough to bid $3,500.

The Mystery of the Missing Mosaics

What happened to $150,000 worth of invaluable Montici mosaics?

That’s the mystery.

Let’s start from the beginning.

Near the end of his life, in 1976, Richard Blow donated 25 beautiful Montici mosaics to Oregon State University. You can view them by clicking on the “Academic Biography” link on the Home page. The 72-year-old artist had closed his Montici workshop three years earlier, and had partially relocated back to New York.  His Florentine art career was over. He was thinking of posterity.

Why to Oregon State University? I don’t know. I’ve never come across documents linking Richard’s life to that university. In any event, hos son David assembled a group of Richard’s friends, including Muriel King and my mother, to help him prepare the collection and ship it off to Oregon.  He also recruited several Blow family members, including Richard’s sister, and Richard’s nephew, George Blow III.

The OSU collection was special for three reasons.

·        It included a truly representative range of classic Montici themes – abstract geometrics, surreal works, marine life, mermaids, snakes, celestial bodies, a mythological yellow griffin, a Biblical tower of Babel,, castles, jeweled hands, butterflies, pop art question marks, trains and a brace of pistols.

·        All 25 pieces covered a specific period of his art – 1966 to 1973, offering a glimpse of the artist in his final creative years (judging by the works, he created at a very high-level right to the end).

·        Richard personally selected them to represent his quarter-century career and artistic legacy.

Our story could have ended there.  University gets collection; visitors can view them today.

But it didn’t.

In 2019, my brother John approached OSU to alert them to our proposed Montici Society, and to see if they had high-resolution jpegs of the Blow mosaics in their collection.  

The mosaics were gone.

Sometime after receiving the collection, for some reason OSU decided to divest themselves of their Montici collection.

Who ended up with them?

According to OSU, David Blow bought them back.

I turned my attention to finding David.. I hadn’t been in touch with him for 40 years. I spent a month trying to track him down.   Rootless and unmarried, David seemed unable to settle anywhere.  Using various public records, I traced his wanderings across the United States, from Bethel, CT; to three different San Francisco addresses; to Boca Raton, FL; to Chevy Chase, MD;  where the trail finally went dry. I tried email addresses and phone numbers linked to each stop, but all were dead ends. I finally turned to an obituary search. He was born in 1938; he would be 81. Could he be dead?

Sadly, he was.

In the Social Security Death Index (1935-2014), I finally found it. “David Jeremy Blow, Died 23 July, 2006, Last Residence:     40484 Stanford, Lincoln, Kentucky.”  He had been dead for 13 years.  I’m puzzled by David ending up in Kentucky. Did he have relatives there? Maybe a girlfriend? Or did death simply catch up with him there?  I did a Google search to find an obituary, but found nothing. That bothers me to this day. No friend of David, no family member, wrote one up? In my first blog on this site, I tried to rectify that, putting down my own memories. RIP David. You’re in our family’s prayers.

Back to the mystery.

So if David was the buyer, where did his collection of Montici art end up? Was it given to his family? Friends? Lovers? Did it stay together, or was it broken up and distributed piecemeal?

Whatever happened, not a single OSU collection piece has shown up on the market to date.

Zip. Nada.

Where are they? And how much would the collection be worth today?

I’m guessing at least $150,000.

Here’s my reasoning:

·        In my opinion, the overall quality of the OSU works matches those in the historical Edelsberg Collection. If so, some back-of-an-envelope math gives us this:  87 Edelsberg mosiacs fetched around $450,000, or about $5,000 a mosaic. 25 OSU mosaics times $5,000 = $125,000.

·        Tack on a premium. If intact, it’s a unique collection, for the reasons explained above. The collection is worth more than the sum of its individual works. So let’s add another 20%, which brings us to $150,000.

One final note: In Muriel King’s papers willed to our family, we found a typewritten sheet of paper dated April 7, 1974, and entitled “Inventory of Intarsia/University of Oregon State.” It lists 11 of the Montici artworks that eventually ended up being donated to Oregon State. Each one had a listed valuation (in 1974 dollars). I’m guessing it was done for tax purposes, or it was required by the OSU Foundation.

The total estimated value of the 11 pieces was $4,870.

Our estimate if sold today? $55,000.

Let the treasure hunt begin.

Michael Schmicker

Richard Blow's Third Wife?

Richard Blow had three wives?  That’s news to me.

A Society member recently flagged a claim about Richard Blow made in Alta Macadam’s 2003 Guidebook “Americans in Florence: A Complete Guide to the City and the Places Associated with Americans Past and Present.” According to guidebook author Macadam, “He (Blow) married three times…”

Do I think Richard actually had a third wife?

No, I don’t.

Unless Macadam can offer supporting evidence, I say Richard only had two wives – millionair heiress and debutante Eleanor Pettinois and Manhattan sculptor and socialite Marya Mannes.

If a third existed, I can only think of two candidates.

Muriel King would be the best bet.

Richard had a very close relationship with his PR Director. They vacationed in Europe together; and their personal letters suggest they were more than just friends. Did they quietly get married at some point? We didn’t find any smoking gun in the trunks of memorabilia Muriel left behind – no yellowed marriage license, no reference in their correspondence to a secret honeymoon in St. Tropez. Besides, both had failed marriages in their past; that can make one nervous about repeating the experience. Scratch her from the list.

How about an Italian wife? 

Richard lived in Italy for many years. Urbane and cultured, he attracted beautiful women who undoubtedly found him, his Villa and his wealth a tempting combination. Did anyone catch him, even for a short time?

Very doubtful. Italy didn’t legally allow divorce until 1970. It’s hard to imagine Richard knowingly tying a knot he couldn’t untie. Further, he understood first-hand the risks if such a relationship went sour. His first wife Eleanor had been murdered by her jilted Italian lover, Cesare. When she tried to leave him, he confronted her, shot her twice with his Italian Army revolver, then killed himself. The passionate Italian is more than just a stereotype.

The final nail in the coffin? No mystery woman showed up at Richard’s death in 1983 to claim part of his inheritance.

My conclusion: There is no third wife.

Your move, Ms. Macadam.

Michael Schmicker

Portrait of the Artist in 14 Photos -- #14.

Embarrassing.
This is the blurry author photo of Richard Blow currently being used on askART!, a major online resource for art pricing, international art auction records, and artist signatures. According to the caption, it was “submitted by John Blow.” Could this be John M. Blow, Richard’s nephew, the son of Richard Blow’s older brother George Waller Blow? If so, it makes you sad. Certainly the family had a better photo of their celebrated offspring to share with the world?  Perhaps they were never asked -- after his death, Richard’s artistic legacy nearly disappeared. Or perhaps the family never really valued his work or lifestyle; or communication between them somewhere along the way soured, or simply petered out. It happens to families. Whatever the reason, Richard deserves a better photo than this.  

Our hope? Someone in the Blow family stumbles across this blog and donates to the world a memorable, high-resolution ,copyright-free photo of Richard for all of us to enjoy.

Portrait of the Artist in 14 Photos -- #13

circa 1973

Another photo from our family collection.
A year shy of 70, Richard spends his final days on the sunny terrace of Villa Piazza Calda before shuttering the Montici workshop, saying a final “addio” to his home of a half-century, and moving into an apartment. There will be no more Montici art.

Not long after, Richard’s sister Adele Margaret dies. Richard has lost his father, mother, brothers, sisters. His Villa, and the Montici workshop are gone. His first wife is dead, his second is estranged from him, as is his son Richard Marco. In 1977, he leaves Italy for the last time, and returns to New York. On April 5, 1983, Richard Allmand Blow, 79, will die of a stroke in Manhattan. The New York Times obituary headlines his lasting artistic legacy: “Richard Blow, Artist; Revived Florentine Mosaic Technique.”

Portrait of the Artist in 14 Photos -- #12

circa 1970

Richard Blow with Bruno Lastrucci in the Montici workshop. Bruno is now the maestro. After 20+ years, business is slowing, Richard is tiring. The art world has shifted dramatically. Demand has dropped. Art has gone Pop with Warhol’s Campbell soup cans and Brillo boxes; Claes Oldenburg lipstick sculpture; street art, improvisation, happenings, minimalist exhibitions featuring trash in a corner. Hip is in. Richard still creates some strikingly beautiful Montici mosaics late in his career (see “Academic Biography” on the Home page to view 25 works from this late period which were donated to Oregon State University). But the generation of pietra dura maestros he started with are retiring, dying. Now 66 years old, Richard stands there in the photo, detached, hand in pocket, dealing with a 26-year old. It’s doubtful Richard attended church often, but he would have recognized Ecclesiastes 3:1 “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

His time is passing.

Portrait of the Artist in 14 photos -- #11

1969

A photo frim our family collection.
Richard with my mother, American art dealer Rayanna Schmuecker, at Villa Piazza Calda.  My mother was 5 foot 2 inches, average height for a woman of her generation. Richard towers over her. He’s 65, with only a hint of a potbelly. The beauty of Villa Piazza Calda is on full display – manicured lawn, ivy-covered stone, potted plants, pine trees, warm yellow stucco walls, and one of Richard’s imposing obelisks flanking the steps.  

Richard is at home, relaxed, short-sleeved polo shirt replacing the normal sport coat. He’s hosting a small dinner for her and my sister Rosemary. They’re impressed by his old-world charm and hospitality, his workshop, his art.

Portrait of an Artist in 14 Photos -- #10

1960s

The quintessential Richard Blow portrait. Discovered by my brother John in a trunk of memorabilia passed on to our family by the late Muriel King.

He’s the urbane, sophisticated, mature artist, stylish in maroon jacket and tie, cigarette dangling from his fingertips (movie stars of the era always had one in hand or mouth. Think Bogart). He’s holding a mosaic that perfectly embodies the revolutionary iconography he used to revitalize a dying Florentine pietra dura industry. He wears a big smile on his face. The little boy from LaSalle. Illinois has followed his heart into the world of art and achieved his dream. It was a crooked path that started in oil, but ended in stone. His painting purchased by the Met has been shuffled off to the storeroom where it sits unseen; but his unique Montici artworks hang on walls in hundreds of homes, offices, and museums. Many a spoiled millionaire has wasted his advantages. But Richard has used his money and connections to both create wonderful art and rescue an Italian patrimony.

Portrait of the Artist in 14 Photos -- #9

1960s

Richard on holiday in Rome. A youthful President John F Kennedy taking the oath of inauguration bareheaded, with a full, thick head of hair blowing in the breeze, pushed the American dress hat industry into permanent decline. But back in Europe, Richard kept it in his wardrobe. He looks good in them..  Here, striking a nonchalant pose for the photographer -- his close friend and Montici PR director, Muriel King -- he sports what looks like an Alpine hat.