The union of Philately and Art
On a grey autumnal day in 1972 Mr M ambled along the banks of the river Seine in Paris and not far from the Louvre he spotted something in a shop window which immediately drew his attention. This was a new French stamp featuring ‘Femme au Jardin’ by Claude Monet. As an art enthusiast he was fascinated by this little gem which was just like the original work of art. He bought the stamp for 1 Franc.
Back in Switzerland he began searching for more stamps featuring artworks from different eras. To his amazement he discovered a multitude of stamps showing many varied artworks not only from France but from around the world. The idea of creating his own Philately art collection was born and gave him a new perspective. He could now possess his own miniature art collection of by all his favourite artists at a price he could afford!
Over the next decade Mr M continued to meticulously build up his own private miniature art collection of landscape, nudes still life and abstract artworks. They were all an essential part of his expanding stamp collection and included examples of works by Picasso, Monet, Dali along with other great artists of the last century.
When Mr M died in 2014 he left behind an extensive collection of 150 albums which combined art and paintings from different eras, and genres with philately.
Auctioning such a collection is not only a logistically but technically challenging. Once the collection had been carefully and expertly divided it achieved a handsome price. Mr M would have been delighted not only with the proceeds of the auction but also with the sympathetic presentation of his collection.