HERBERT ARNOT, INC. STICKS WITH

A FORMULA THAT WORKS

No subject has made more headlines in the art world than the fallout from World War II-the settlement of the Lt. Meador case of the jeweled Quedlinbug treasures in Texas, the unsettled case of the Egon Schiele paintings on loan from Vienna at the Museum of Modern Art and the question of looted art still missing in the former Iron Curtain countries.

Oddly enough, small pieces and variants on all this history are encapsulated in one suite of rooms in the gallery alley of New York's 57th street.  All but unknown to the public, but familiar to the cognoscenti of the American gallery community, it's named after Herbert Arnot, who started the dealership in 1946, but whose roots go back to the 19th century.

When dynasty-founder Marcus Arnot opened his gallery in Vienna in 1863, Sigmund Freud was in knee pants and Impressionism was aborning in Paris at the Salon De Refusés.  Marcus, or Arnot the First, was a framer and a pioneer who conceived the idea of dealing to the trade.  In good old legendary fashion, Marcus had three sons, and a colorful lot they were.

SECOND GENERATION

The eldest, Hugo, expanded on the dealer-to-dealer concept and opened a dozen galleries throughout Europe, culminating with a London address in 1896.  During the same period, back in Vienna, brother Guido was being credited with discovering Egon Schiele and promoting his career.

The third son, Robert, became a book publisher and an art collector.  Fortunately upon his death, his widow was able to escape the Nazi war machine by fleeing to Paris, where the sale of Robert's collection of Renoirs saved her life.

THIRD GENERATION

In his turn, Hugo Arnot had three sons.  At the outbreak of World War II, his eldest, Herbert, enlisted in the United States Army.  After nearly three-and-a-half years in uniform, Staff Sergeant Arnot was with Patton's division as they drove from Normandy across the Rhine to the banks of the Danube.

While with a branch of G-2, Military Intelligence, Sgt. Arnot worked behind German lines collecting and translating documents that revealed Wehrmacht's plans, which earned him a Bronze Star.  Then, in a parallel to the Quedlinburg incident, Sgt. Arnot discovered a treasure of his own.  Confronting the Nazi mayor of Budapest in 1945, he demanded to know if there was any war loot on the premises.  The mayor pointed under his bed.  Arnot III reminded him who had won the war and ordered the mayor to fetch the mysterious box himself.

The nervous man retrieved a large, black metal case, and, as he was about to raise the lid, the sergeant suspected a booby trap.  The box contained not a bomb, but the priceless jeweled 10th century Crown of St. Stephen, Hungary's most valued and holiest relic. 

At this point, Sgt. Arnot respectfully declined a commission because it would have meant remaining with the Army months or years longer, and he and his wife had plans for a civilian life.

Together they amassed $10,000 by combining his accumulated army pay with funds she had saved from the sale of artwork supplied on a limited basis by Uncle Wilfrid in London.

When the sergeant got back to New York, he opened the Herbert Arnot Gallery in a small space on 57th Street and introduced the dealer-to-the-trade concept in the United States.

FOURTH GENERATION

Over the next five decades, the gallery's range extended from New York to the rest of the United States and Canada, until in 1990, son Peter inherited the business with a firm determination to preserve the principles and tradition established over the years by predecessors Marcus, Hugo and Herbert.

"No one in the world," says Peter Arnot today, "has the wide range that we have.  We're unique in quality, history and variety.

"We try to be traditional and conservative," Peter Arnot elaborates, "and rarely carry modern paintings or graphics, with one exception, the colored lithographs of Luigi Kasimir, with whom my father worked many years ago." "Some of our more contemporary art is by Christian Nesvadba." Loyalty to the past extends to the sales staff, too, with most reps having chalked up 10-20 years with the company.

FIFTH GENERATION

The legacy continues with Nicole Arnot.  Nicole graduated from Duke University, Magna Cum Laude, in 2002 bringing with her computer technology and a breath of fresh air and at the same time continuing the Arnot heritage.  Young ideas to invigorate all of the Arnot family is always a welcome tradition!

A NEW ADDITION

On August 27th, 2006 the Arnot family was pleased to adopt Charlie Brown into our family.  Charlie Brown is 11 weeks old and getting used to the Arnot Gallery Showroom.  Charlie Brown is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.  When you visit Arnot you can now visit Charlie Brown Arnot as well! We enjoy sharing a picture of Charlie Brown with you.  See below:

(c) Charlie Brown Arnot

PART OF THE INFORMATION IS BASED ON THE ARTICLE WRITTEN ON HERBERT ARNOT INC. WHICH APPEARED IN ART WORLD NEWS ON OCTOBER 1998.