Chapter 2: The Rub
Photogravure from the Orrock biography, 1903
Christine and I wandered into the auction hall. To our bewilderment, the auctioneer was in a heated argument with a short heavy-set fellow with a strong German accent. He was insisting the sale be cancelled.
The collection belonged to Rudolph Hermani, a wealthy German linked to Mercedes-Benz—and the Krupp industrialists of old. Among the treasures was a tiny panel painting: a strong peasant carrying a small child through turbulent water. The monogram in the corner: A over D.
Someone joked it might be Albrecht Dürer—considered the greatest of German painters. He took his own suggestion lightly. But considering its provenance—anything was possible.
This is an excerpt. Read the full chapter in Art World’s Dirty Little Secret.