Roger and Josette started collecting Chinese vases, but over the years broadened their horizons to include examples of Flemish expressionism, surrealism and post-war art.
‘They were people who bought work very early on from artists who had yet to make their breakthrough,’ explains VRT radio host Chantal Pattyn. ‘At the time, they probably paid very reasonable prices.’
‘Buying art was completely different back then. People travelled under their own steam to art fairs at home and abroad in order to buy pieces. It was a niche market. The couple’s collection is part of a personal story. That’s what makes it so fantastic.’
According to experts, Roger was friends with the cream of art gallery owners and the couple only bought art that they themselves liked. Profit was never the motive.
One of Belgium’s largest collections
At its peak, their collection of around 200 pieces was one of the largest in Belgium. When in 2005 Roger died at the age of 80 and Josette decided to downsize, part of the collection was sold.
In 2006, 27 pieces were auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York, fetching a total of almost 20 million euros. The highlight, a work by artist Francis Bacon, sold for a record 11.7 million euros. Roger is said to have bought it decades earlier for “barely” 50,000 euros.
Magritte and Picasso
When Josette passed away at the age of 95 in April last year, the family decided to auction the rest of the collection. This will take place at Christie’s auction house in London in March.
The highlight, “La plaine de l’air” (1940) by Belgian surrealist René Magritte, is estimated to fetch between €4 million and €6.3 million. In the same price category is a sculpture by British sculptor Henry Moore: “Goslar Warrior” (1973).
