Frank Perls
Encyclopedia
Frank Richard Perls was a German
-born American art dealer who was best known for uncovering a series of fraudulent art works
. As an interpreter with the United States Third Army
, Perls worked together with Army intelligence officer Martin Dannenberg
in April 1945 in the discovery of a copy of the 1935 Nuremberg Laws
signed by Adolf Hitler
.
, where his father, Hugo Perls
, ran an art gallery. He attended the University of Freiburg
, majoring in art history
, and joined his mother in 1932 at the Kaethe Perls Gallery in Paris
. He emigrated to the United States in 1937 and together with his brother Klaus
established the Perls Galleries in Manhattan
. He opened his own gallery in Hollywood in 1939 and later relocated his place of business to Wilshire Boulevard
in Beverly Hills, California
.
, Bavaria
, where they discovered an original copy of the 1935 Nuremberg Laws signed by Adolf Hitler. Dannenberg recounted that Perls had tears in his eyes when he realized the enormity of their find and the fact that it was two Jews
who had made the discovery. They turned the document in to Third Army headquarters and it made its way up the chain of command to General George S. Patton
. Patton kept the document for himself and donated it to The Huntington Library
in San Marino, California
, where it was kept in a bank vault for 54 years. First put on public display at the Skirball Cultural Center
in 1999, the document was donated to the United States National Archives in 2010.
and the family of Henri Matisse
. In 1967, Perls was responsible for uncovering a series of unauthorized casts made of six bronze sculptures by Alberto Giacometti
. That same year, he concluded that there were 44 forged pieces included in a group of 58 purchased for $1 million by oilman and art collector Algur H. Meadows
, including works that had been attributed to Marc Chagall
, Edgar Degas
and Picasso.
In an auction held in 1968 at Parke-Bernet
, Perls acquired "Still Life with a Poem" by Juan Gris
for $120,000 and Georges Rouault
's "Le Chinois" for $92,000, setting records for works by both artists purchased at auction. He served as director of the Art Dealers Association of America and was made a life fellow of the Los Angeles County Museum
.
Perls died at age 64 on February 9, 1975, in Beverly Hills after having undergone open heart surgery
three months earlier.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born American art dealer who was best known for uncovering a series of fraudulent art works
Art forgery
Art forgery is the creation of works of art which are falsely attributed to other, usually more famous, artists. Art forgery can be extremely lucrative, but modern dating and analysis techniques have made the identification of forged artwork much simpler....
. As an interpreter with the United States Third Army
United States Army Central
United States Army Central is an Army Service Component Command of the United States Army and is also dual-hatted as the "United States Third Army". It is the Army Component of U.S...
, Perls worked together with Army intelligence officer Martin Dannenberg
Martin Dannenberg
Martin Ernest Dannenberg was an American insurance executive. He served as chairman of the Sun Life Insurance Company for five decades. While serving as a counterintelligence officer in the United States Army during World War II with the U.S. Third Army, Dannenberg discovered an original copy of...
in April 1945 in the discovery of a copy of the 1935 Nuremberg Laws
Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 were antisemitic laws in Nazi Germany introduced at the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party. After the takeover of power in 1933 by Hitler, Nazism became an official ideology incorporating scientific racism and antisemitism...
signed by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
.
Early life
Perls was born on October 23, 1910, in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where his father, Hugo Perls
Hugo Perls
Hugo Perls was an international art dealer, historian, philosopher and notable collector born in Rybnik in Upper Silesia. During his lifetime, he witnessed his homeland change from its German origins to Polish. He studied law, philosophy, and art history at the University of Freiburg and in Berlin...
, ran an art gallery. He attended the University of Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...
, majoring in art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
, and joined his mother in 1932 at the Kaethe Perls Gallery in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He emigrated to the United States in 1937 and together with his brother Klaus
Klaus Perls
Klaus Gunther Perls was born in Berlin, Germany, where his parents were art dealers. He studied art history in Munich, but after the Nazis stopped granting degrees to Jews he moved to Basel, Switzerland and completed his studies...
established the Perls Galleries in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. He opened his own gallery in Hollywood in 1939 and later relocated his place of business to Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
.
Army interpreter
During World War II, Perls served in the infantry of the United States Army, participating in the Normandy landings, where he served as an interpreter. He and Army intelligence officer Martin Dannenberg were directed by an informant to a bank vault in EichstättEichstätt
Eichstätt is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the District of Eichstätt. It is located along the Altmühl River, at , and had a population of 13,078 in 2002. It is home to the Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, the lone Catholic university in Germany. The...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, where they discovered an original copy of the 1935 Nuremberg Laws signed by Adolf Hitler. Dannenberg recounted that Perls had tears in his eyes when he realized the enormity of their find and the fact that it was two Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
who had made the discovery. They turned the document in to Third Army headquarters and it made its way up the chain of command to General George S. Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
. Patton kept the document for himself and donated it to The Huntington Library
The Huntington Library
The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens is an educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington in San Marino, in the San Rafael Hills near Pasadena, California in the United States...
in San Marino, California
San Marino, California
San Marino is a small, affluent city in Los Angeles County, California. Incorporated in 1913, the City founders designed the community to be uniquely residential, with expansive properties surrounded by beautiful gardens, wide streets, and well maintained parkways...
, where it was kept in a bank vault for 54 years. First put on public display at the Skirball Cultural Center
Skirball Cultural Center
The Skirball Cultural Center is an educational institution in Los Angeles, California devoted to sustaining Jewish heritage and American democratic ideals. Open to the public since 1996, the Skirball Cultural Center is dedicated to exploring the connections between 4,000 years of Jewish heritage...
in 1999, the document was donated to the United States National Archives in 2010.
Discovery of art forgeries
Perls was a personal friend of Pablo PicassoPablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
and the family of Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...
. In 1967, Perls was responsible for uncovering a series of unauthorized casts made of six bronze sculptures by Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draughtsman, and printmaker.Alberto Giacometti was born in the canton Graubünden's southerly alpine valley Val Bregaglia and came from an artistic background; his father, Giovanni, was a well-known post-Impressionist painter...
. That same year, he concluded that there were 44 forged pieces included in a group of 58 purchased for $1 million by oilman and art collector Algur H. Meadows
Algur H. Meadows
Algur Hurtle Meadows, was an oilman, art collector, and benefactor of Southern Methodist University and other institutions.-Life:...
, including works that had been attributed to Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."According to art historian Michael J...
, Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas[p] , born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist...
and Picasso.
In an auction held in 1968 at Parke-Bernet
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
, Perls acquired "Still Life with a Poem" by Juan Gris
Juan Gris
José Victoriano González-Pérez , better known as Juan Gris, was a Spanish painter and sculptor who lived and worked in France most of his life...
for $120,000 and Georges Rouault
Georges Rouault
Georges Henri Rouault[p] was a French Fauvist and Expressionist painter, and printmaker in lithography and etching.-Childhood and education:Rouault was born in Paris into a poor family...
's "Le Chinois" for $92,000, setting records for works by both artists purchased at auction. He served as director of the Art Dealers Association of America and was made a life fellow of the Los Angeles County Museum
Los Angeles County Museum
The Los Angeles County Museum may refer to:* Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County* Los Angeles County Museum of Art...
.
Perls died at age 64 on February 9, 1975, in Beverly Hills after having undergone open heart surgery
Open Heart Surgery
Open Heart Surgery was released on August 8, 2000 by rock band Virginwool. The band signed to Breaking/Atlantic Records after initially beginning signed to Universal Records. The album was produced and mixed by Brad Wood....
three months earlier.