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- Page III - 

October 1st, 1945

Are you sure of what you write me about Montag acting as an expert for the Germans in their looting? It doesn't click with his attitude when I last saw him in Montpellier. At that time he was dreaming English and had the greatest respect for Churchill to whom he had more-or-less taught painting, said he. Every evolution is imaginable but again people might have an interest in talking you out of seeing Montag and getting the help from him that otherwise you would. I have to apologize for writing this way, as you know the situation better than I do, but in any case I should like to submit this hypothesis to you.

I am glad to hear about Kundig and hope that you will be able to do business with him. Andre Wail says that Mme. Guillaume always explained the money she had as coming from her mines. He never believed it and he suspects that her actual fortune does not come from her holdings in Algerian phosphates.

I [[strikethrough]] again remind [[/strikethrough]] ^ [[would be thankful to]] you to try to get the address of Dubois who lived, if I am not mistaken, some time ago at 72, Rue Michelange. I believe that he must have moved because you might remember that when I saw him last he had just lost his job at the Ministry and most probably very quickly had to go underground.

I am investigating the market for very beautiful english paintings for Huyghes and I hope before long to make some suggestions to you. Anyhow, as curious as it is, last year one could find a great number of paintings on the market, but this year it is just the opposite. There is no Seurat to my knowledge to be had, but in the meanwhile I would like you to find out whether he would be interested in a marvelous Greco which I think would be of the greatest of importance for the Louvre. It is Arthur Sachs' "Christ at Gethsemane" 1.04 x 1.17; signed; painted between 1590 and 98; comes from a private collection in Madrid:
[[underlined]] Exhibitions [[/underlined]]: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1928.
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Conn., 1930.
Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 1932-33. 
Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.
Masterpieces of Art, New York World's Fair, 1939.
Knoedler & Co., Jan.-Feb. 1941 "Loan Exhibition for the Benefit of the Greek War Relief Association", No. 4 and illustrated.

[[underlined]] Bibliography [[/underlined]]: A.L. Mayer "El Greco", 1926, P. 10, No. 55, illustrated.
B. Burroughs "Exhibition of Spanish Paintings", Metropolitan Museum, New York, 1928, P. 4, No. 26, illustrated. 
A.L. Mayer "El Greco", 1931, P. 120, No. 10, illustrated.
D.C. Rich "Catalogue of Paintings, Art Institute of Chicago", 1933, P. 26, No. 167, illustrated.
Dr. W.R. Valentiner "Masterpieces of Art, New York World's Fair", 1939, No. 160.
Catalogue of the Loan Exhibition for the Benefit of the Greek War Relief Association, M. Knoedler & Co., 1941, No. 4 and illustrated.

I wrote about it to Kenneth Clark because I knew that there is in the National Gallery a picture of the same subject. He answered that he did not think Gulbenkian would be interested in the painting although it was a much better example than the one in the National Gallery. Arthur Sachs mentioned as a first price $125,000. and would accept, I guess in the nineties; maybe even less if we could tell him it would be for the Louvre. You would have to get your profit from the Louvre as we would receive very little from Sachs. While waiting to know whether this is of interest, I will go on looking for English paintings. 

Thank you for the papers of Jordaan and Danon, dated from 1942 that I duly received. The Minutes of the company have the greatest interest.

t.s.v.p.