by Marc Masurovsky
The United States entered the Second World War after the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on the morning of 7 December 1941. Up to that point, it had remained ostensibly neutral, American companies continued to operate through their subsidiaries in Axis-occupied Europe and Nazi Germany.
When the US first entered the global conflict in late 1941, its primary focus was on Japan and its military campaigns against the Pacific Islands and the Asian mainland, with China taking the brunt of its assault in what appeared to be a systematic attempt to eradicate the local Chinese population and deprive it of its cultural heritage.
The art market has demonstrated time and time again how impervious it is to mass unrest, domestic and international conflicts, including all-out war. Trade between the Western Hemisphere was effectively hampered with the European continent and the US’ closest ally, the United Kingdom. A naval blockade was established in the north Atlantic, whose purpose was to screen maritime shipping lanes in order to prevent the Axis from engaging in economic and commercial ventures as well as exporting agents and military assets.
How did this affect the New York art trade? It must have put a crimp in its style, of that there is no doubt. But one of the hallmarks of a successful art business is to continually expand and strengthen its rolodex of clients, regardless of where they might be based.
Based on US postal censorship intercepts which have been publicly available for decades at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, one can paint a clearer picture of how New York art galleries benefited from the new conditions brought about by global war.
In short, New York galleries and collectors were in regular contact throughout the war, from 1940 to 1945 and beyond with galleries, collectors and dealers in 12 Latin American countries and two island nations (Curaçao and Cuba). The Latin American countries included from north to south:
Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil.
While New York galleries and collectors had a very difficult time doing business directly with their contacts on the European continent, those Latin American countries and islands served as transit areas and willing intermediaries for their transactions. And so, Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela and Mexico were the chosen transit points for works and objects of art streaming out of Europe to be traded locally and/or shipped to the United States for display and sale.
It is impossible to assess the total volume of objects that flowed out of Europe into Latin America and from there to the United States, but some gallerists like the Koenigsbergs who were based in Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Mexico City (Mexico) did a bustling business, with shipments of hundreds of objects arriving into Mexico City at a time. Local auction houses were more than happy to disperse these European objects as there was a willing clientele avid to purchase them.
When the US first entered the global conflict in late 1941, its primary focus was on Japan and its military campaigns against the Pacific Islands and the Asian mainland, with China taking the brunt of its assault in what appeared to be a systematic attempt to eradicate the local Chinese population and deprive it of its cultural heritage.
The art market has demonstrated time and time again how impervious it is to mass unrest, domestic and international conflicts, including all-out war. Trade between the Western Hemisphere was effectively hampered with the European continent and the US’ closest ally, the United Kingdom. A naval blockade was established in the north Atlantic, whose purpose was to screen maritime shipping lanes in order to prevent the Axis from engaging in economic and commercial ventures as well as exporting agents and military assets.
How did this affect the New York art trade? It must have put a crimp in its style, of that there is no doubt. But one of the hallmarks of a successful art business is to continually expand and strengthen its rolodex of clients, regardless of where they might be based.
Based on US postal censorship intercepts which have been publicly available for decades at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, one can paint a clearer picture of how New York art galleries benefited from the new conditions brought about by global war.
In short, New York galleries and collectors were in regular contact throughout the war, from 1940 to 1945 and beyond with galleries, collectors and dealers in 12 Latin American countries and two island nations (Curaçao and Cuba). The Latin American countries included from north to south:
Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil.
While New York galleries and collectors had a very difficult time doing business directly with their contacts on the European continent, those Latin American countries and islands served as transit areas and willing intermediaries for their transactions. And so, Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela and Mexico were the chosen transit points for works and objects of art streaming out of Europe to be traded locally and/or shipped to the United States for display and sale.
It is impossible to assess the total volume of objects that flowed out of Europe into Latin America and from there to the United States, but some gallerists like the Koenigsbergs who were based in Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Mexico City (Mexico) did a bustling business, with shipments of hundreds of objects arriving into Mexico City at a time. Local auction houses were more than happy to disperse these European objects as there was a willing clientele avid to purchase them.
