?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000
EDWARD PERRY WARREN (1860-1928) ARCHIVE
Extensive correspondence of the noted art collector and author of "A Defence of Uranian Love." 137 items in one box, including 47 letters signed by Warren (most Autograph Letters Signed, a few drafted by a secretary for his signature); some with partial separations at folds, otherwise minimal wear. Various places, 1906-1912.
Edward Perry "Ned" Warren was the son of a wealthy Massachusetts paper manufacturer, and graduated from Harvard before studying archaeology at Oxford. There he met fellow archaeologist John Marshall (1862-1928), who became his lifelong partner although Marshall also took a wife. They resided in Lewes, England. Together they were among the leading collectors of ancient art of their time, and helped build the collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Warren's three-volume book "A Defence of Uranian Love" was published under a pseudonym shortly after his death. He and Marshall were featured in the 2012 book "Outlaw Marriages: The Hidden Histories of Fifteen Extraordinary Same-Sex Couples."
Offered here is Warren's correspondence with two of his Italian antiquities contacts: Ignazio Virzi (died 1907) of Palermo, Sicily and his nephew Tommaso Virzi (1881-1974). This correspondence begins with 5 letters (all in French) from Warren to the elder Virzi, who had long been one of his principal suppliers of antiquities. The first, dated 26 April 1906, recommends Warren's partner John Marshall for a research project. In translation, "Mr. Marshall is one of those people who does not answer letters promptly, and sometimes not at all. But when there is something important, he is not reluctant to travel, which is better than letters. So I will ask him to visit you before Rome."
The bulk of the correspondence is with Ignazio's nephew Tommaso Virzi from 1907-1912, most written in English, much of it relating to Tommaso's efforts to authenticate a painting suspected to be by Raphael. Although this project was outside Warren's normal area of interest, he did his best to connect the young man with the proper resources, striking up a friendship as he went. The bulk of these letters are in English; they are accompanied by 29 letters from Warren's secretaries Frank Gearing and Asa Thomas to Virzi; retained drafts of 13 responses from Virzi to Warren; and other related correspondence, memoranda, and shipping documents.
Many of the letters mention Warren's partner John Marshall. On 25 September 1908, Warren notes that "Marshall and his wife arrived here a few days ago for a long stay. I don't ask people down while they are about. . . . I have no idea whether they will leave in November or in February; I have asked them not to leave at all." On 19 September 1910 he noted "This is Mr. Marshall's last day, so I cannot write at length." A letter from John Marshall to Virzi dated 3 March (no year) is also included, discussing efforts to view the painting.
Discussed frequently is British art critic and dealer Robert Baldwin "Robbie" Ross (1869-1918), Oscar Wilde's lover and literary executor. A typed transcript of Ross's assessment of the painting is laid down inside a 7 August 1908 letter. On 1 October 1908, Warren refers to Ross in Italian as his "foxy friend": "Ross, the amico volpe, recommended showing the things to no one except Berenson." Art world luminaries Bernard Berenson and Roger Fry are also mentioned frequently in the correspondence. On 25 October 1910, Warren offers to arrange the sale of the Raphael to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for £50,000.
Warren and Virzi continued to discuss the sale of antiquities. A new subject is introduced on 15 July 1911: "I enclose photos of your bulldogs. The bitch is fine, and you should choose her for yourself." 3 small photographs of Warren with the bulldogs are included. The shipment of the dogs to Sicily is discussed over the next few letters. The correspondence comes to an end in November 1912.
Tommaso Virzi later emigrated to America. He shows up in the 1940 census of Manhattan as an art exporter, and was naturalized in 1945. Provenance: acquired by the consignor at an estate sale in Fairfield County, CT. A detailed inventory of the correspondence is available on request.
