It all started with a list of paintings. There, scribbled by a cousin she hadn't seen for years, were the names of the masters whose works once belonged to her great-grandfather, Jules Strauss: Renoir, Monet, Degas, Tiepolo and more. Pauline Baer de Perignon knew little to nothing about Strauss, or about his vanished, precious art collection. But the list drove her on a frenzied trail of research in the archives of the Louvre and the Dresden museums, through Gestapo records, and to consult with Nobel laureate Patrick Modiano. What happened in 1942? And what became of the collection after Nazis seized her great-grandparents’ elegant Parisian apartment? The quest takes Pauline Baer de Perignon from the Occupation of France to the present day as she breaks the silence around the wrenching experiences her family never fully transmitted, and asks what art itself is capable of conveying over time.
Full marks to Pauline Baer de Perignon for her tenacity. It’s only one of many works once owned by renowned art collector and banker, Jules Strauss, a Jewish man who found himself living in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II, but Baer de Perignon’s persistence and determination has resulted in the restitution of one painting to Strauss’ heirs (Baer de Perignon being one of them). The painting in question - Portrait of a Lady as Pomona by seventeenth-century French portrait painter Nicholas de Largillière – was sold at Sotheby’s in January 2022 for USD1.23million.
I love a good intrigue. I love learning something when I read a book, be it fiction or other. THE VANISHED COLLECTION certainly ticks these boxes. I am aware Nazi’s looted a lot of art, both from individuals and institutions, but obviously, I am not familiar with the specifics.
In this memoir, Baer de Perignon charts her journey starting with a random comment made by an elderly relative about the low prices some of the Strauss collection was sold for at the time. Further, Baer de Perignon later discovers a list of paintings that her grandmother (if my memory serves) kept, and which at one time was actively investigating their whereabouts and possible return to the family. This is all news she has never heard before.
With so many of the relatives now deceased, Baer de Perignon relies on the (at times) unclear memories of her great Aunt, plus a large amount of research she herself discovers. It is clear her journey was an incredibly personal one, and at times, done without the help or interest of other family members.
What stopped me from loving this book is that when you take a step back, there are not many solid facts. The story often relies on repetition of information we’ve read before. There is also lots of conjecture. Trying to paint a narrative that’s imbued with, at times, fanciful guesses, doesn’t really contribute to a great story.
Review copy courtesy of Edelweiss and New Vessel Press.
Pauline Baer de Perignon has co-authored film scripts and directed writing workshops in Paris where she lives. The Vanished Collection is her first book.
