Art: Mr. Widener’s Rembrandts

Probably the greatest Rembrandt collection in the world, together with other works of art comprising Joseph E. Widener’s $50,000,000 collection, is to be left to the public. Mr. Widener has not yet stated whether the City of Philadelphia or the Metropolitan Museum, Manhat tan, is to be the recipient. The Rembrandts include the land scape, The Mill (said to have cost $500,000), Portrait of Saskia; Study of an Old Man; Portrait of Himself; The Philosopher; Head of an Aged Woman; The Apostle Paul; The Circumcision; Head of St. Matthew; Portrait of a Man with a Letter; Descent from the Crass (also reported to have cost $500,000). Two portraits in his collection (A Gentleman With High Hat and Gloves in Right Hand; and A Lady with Ostrich Feather Fan in Right Hand) are the subject of the suit instituted in the Supreme Court by Prince Yusupov, a participant in the arduous murder of Monk Rasputin. Yusupov sold the pictures to Mr. Widener in 1921, but maintains that a clause in the contract gave him the privilege of repurchase at the original price plus 8% interest, provided he used his own money and wanted the pictures for his own enjoyment alone. “Assassin,” -“degenerate,” “buffoon,” “joke,” were some of the terms applied to the Prince by Mr. Widener. “Any man who paints his face and blackens his eyes is a joke,” further commented Mr. Widener. Regarding the sale of any items in his collection, he remarked:

“I am neither an art dealer nor a moneylender. I am an art collector. I have nothing for sale and hope I never shall.”