Our last night in Maastricht along Vrijthof square. 11:45 PM. Photo: JH.

JH and I made our third annual visit as guests of The European Fine Art Fair. You may have heard it before but it’s true: TEFAF is extraordinary in many ways. Yes it is for the very rich – there were more private jets at the local airport for the Fair than are used to travel to the Superbowl. But it is also for everyone -- anyone who loves history, loves beauty, loves artisanship, craftsmanship, genius and artistry. Although it is a place of commerce and is designed for the very rich and for institutions who can afford the prices that run into the six, seven and eight figures. Graff, for example, had several pieces of jewelry than from $5 to $13 million. Diamonds including several rare pink ones, sapphires, rubies, emeralds. There were Rembrandts, Picassos, Warhols, Fontanas, six, seven, eight centuries of masterworks and masterpieces, and all presented smartly, intelligently, beautifully, in a very comfortable exhibition space. Many run into people they know from all over the world including the United States. “These people buy and hide, unlike a lot of people in New York who like to buy and show,” remarked a dealer about the differences in fairs. Where in New York where you often see the women leading the men at these fairs, in Maastricht you see both men and women leading, accompanying.

There is a mission, a focus on many faces. Through them, you see what you don’t know; you see how we learn. At the Adrian Sassoon Gallery which has extraordinary ceramics, there was a tall, fifty-ish, grey-haired man. Lanky, crewcut, glasses, he had the manner of a successful, Midwestern farmer. He was handling and inspecting a large vase in several shades of green. The gallery staff assisted him. There was reverence in the air. There was also serious business. To these uneducated, untrained eyes, it looked like a substantial, large, pretty vase. To his eyes, I could see it was much much more, and to more than one. You see impromptu confabs of men in suits conversing in the aisles. You get a sense of things happening. You see women thirty-something on up, stylishly, plainly, ethnically dressed, all of which might pale to the brooch or the ring or necklace (for days). You get a sense of the gravity, of the wheels that move the world of art, of collections, of museums, of economic, political and marketing power. Bankers. Bankers with real assets. It feels like the center of a of the world of wealth and society. At the Kraemer booth, the pieces all came from royal palaces. A pair of fauteuils, seat and back covered with a bright floral design on silk damask, from Marie-Antoinette’s boudoir at Versailles. A pair of brocade covered folding stools made for the bedroom of Louis XVI at Versailles, and which later Napoleon took for his bedroom at Fontainebleau. Aside from their substantial construction and beauty, I was most amused by what Napoleon wanted after he got the crown of France for himself. Why, the previous King’s stuff, of course. Boys will be boys. Now they belong to the ages and our connoisseurs.

Mikael, Nicole, Laurent, and Sandra Kraemer flanking a pair of brocade covered folding stools made for the bedroom of Louis XVI at Versailles, and which later Napoleon took for his bedroom at Fontainebleau.

Last day in Maastricht. Every time I visit Maastricht, walking through the beautiful narrow streets of the old town, I think: this must be a wonderful place to live. It is easy to see why it is a destination for people in other parts of the country as well as the neighboring Germans and Belgians. The night before we left, we took two friends – Sue and Ann Madonia – to dinner.  We’d run into the Madonias, daughter and mother, who have a shop on Jobs Lane in Southampton, at the Fair. We returned to Il Giardino, the Italian restaurant we went to the night before. My idea, being an obstinate creature of habit (and drawn like a moth to flame) to restaurants where the people factor is as important as the menu. Il Giardino is noisy and clattery but convivial and all business with the waitstaff. Back at the Kruisherenhotel, we had nightcaps in the bar with Martijn Aarts, the new General Manager. We met Martin a couple years ago when we dined one night at the Chateau Saint-Gerlach, another Camille Oostwegel hotel, and he gave us a tour of 18th century chateau that Mr. Oostwegel carefully converted into a luxurious hotel and restaurant. President Bush stayed there last year during last year’s Fair. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright dined there this year and was staying at the Kruisheren this past week also.

Clockwise from top left: Back at il giardino for the second night in a row — The pizza with italian ham, prosciutto, and mushrooms; Spaghetti with vegetables; The turbot with spinach; Back at the hotel bar with DPC and Martijn Aarts, the General Manager of the Kruisherenhotel.

One last look at Maastricht at night along Vrijthof square.

Saturday morning. Up at 6:30 for the breakfast buffet. The Europeans, as travelers know, have lovely buffets for breakfast. The Americans such as JH and myself, love these breakfasts. Gluttons might be a more apt description for a lot of us aficionados. Nevertheless. At 8:30 the car came for us and interrupted.

The last breakfast and last look around the Kruisherenhotel; The exterior and front entrance of the Kruisheren (below); Driving past City Hall before we were off to Amsterdam to catch our flight back to New York (below).

There were 220 exhibition booths at this years’ TEFAF full of treasures and beautiful, fascinating, intriguing masterworks and masterpieces. In the first two days of the fair, JH toured and photographed a taste of the displays in more than seventy of these booths.

Richard Green. Old Master, British, Sporting, Marine, French Impressionist, Modern British, 19th century European and Victorian paintings.

Johnny van Haeften Ltd. 17th century Dutch and Flemish Old Master paintings.

Albrecht Neuhaus, Kunsthandel. Works of art, medieval and Classicism, European sculpture, 12th- to 18th-century old master paintings, 17th- and 18th-century European furniture.

Adriano Ribolzi. 17th-and 18th-century French furniture, old master paintings and works of art. A rare Braque sculpture, bronze covered in gold (right).

Ben Janssens Oriental Art Ltd. Chinese works of art.

Galerie Hopkins - Custot. Impressionist and modern paintings.

Noortman Master Paintings. Old masters, Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings.

Noortman Master Paintings.

Fine Art Society. British 19th and 20th century painting, drawing, printmaking, furniture and decorative arts.

Kunsthandel Jacques Fijnaut bv Silver & Works of Art. 17th and 18th century Dutch silver, 18th century Dutch furniture, Dutch and Flemish paintings: Post-Impressionist, Fauvism.

David Tunick, Inc. Works of art on paper: old master and modern prints and drawings.

Kunsthaus Bühler GmbH. German and French art of the 19th and early 20th century, contemporary figurative art.

Stair Sainty Ltd. Old master and late 19th-century paintings and sculpture.

Frances Beatty and her daughter Susie Kantor at Richard L. Feigen & Co. European old master and 19th-century paintings and drawings.

Kunstgalerij Albricht b.v. 19th- and 20th-century paintings.

Berko Fine Paintings. 19th century and early 20th century European paintings.

Berko Fine Paintings.

Martin and Henry Zimet of French & Co.

Sandra Hindman and Keegan Goepfert of Les Enluminures, Ltd.

Montgomery Gallery. Late 19th and early 20th century European and American paintings and sculpture.

Waterhouse & Dodd. Fine European paintings from 1860 to the present day.

Grassi Studio. European Old Master and 19th century paintings.

Cazeau-Béraudière. Impressionist and modern masters, paintings, drawings, sculpture.

Galerie Berès. 19th and 20th century paintings, drawings and sculpture, Japanese prints.

Cesare Lampronti srl. Italian and European Old master paintings (16th-18th century).

Schlichte Bergen Old Master. Paintings & Drawings Paintings and drawings 1400-1900.

Whitfield Fine Art Ltd. Old master paintings.

Haunch of Venison. Contemporary and Post War art.

Jablonka Gallerie. Modern art.

Annely Juda Fine Art. 20th Century art, Bauhaus, De Stijl, Russian Constructivism and international contemporary art.

Landau Fine Art, Inc. 20th-century International Artworks.

Landau Fine Art, Inc.

Marlborough Fine Art. Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, 20th century European masters, German Expressionists, Post War American artists, leading 20th century contemporary artists and master prints.

Marlborough Fine Art.

Galerie Thomas. German Expressionism, Classic Modernism, Post-War and Contemporary art.

Brame & Lorenceau. Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture from 1820 to 1960.

Jean-David Cahn AG. Greek, Roman and Egyptian antiquities.

Axel Vervoordt. Archaeology, Furniture, Oriental Art, Works of Art and silver from the XVIIth to the XXth century.

Francois Graff and Eduard van der Geest of GRAFF.

Philippe Denys. XXth Century - Objets d´Art from Europe 1880-1950.

Salis & Vertes. 19th and 20th-century paintings and drawings.

Acquavella Galleries, Inc. 19th- and 20th-century masters, modern, contemporary and Post-War American art.

Waddington Galleries Ltd. 20th-century and contemporary paintings, sculpture and works on paper.

Richard Gray Gallery. Modern and contemporary masters.

Galerie Jan Krugier & Cie. Old masters, 19th- and 20th-century drawings, paintings, sculptures and contemporary art Exclusive agent for the Marina Picasso Collection. Exclusive agent for the Alejandro, Aurelio, Claudio Torres Collection from the Estate of Joaquin Torres-Garcia.

Moeller Fine Art. Specialized in masterworks from 1870-1970, with an emphasis on French Impressionism and German Expressionism, as well as Fauvism, Cubism, the Bauhaus, Dada and Surealism.

Jaski Art Gallery. Modern and Cobra.

Maison d'Art Williams Åmells. Old Master Paintings from 13th to 18th centuries.

Bernheimer-Colnaghi. Old master paintings.

Galerie J. Kugel. French and foreign furniture, works of art, silver, sculpture and paintings.

On Friday afternoon, at the invitation of HRH Prince Constantijn, the youngest son of HRH Queen Beatrix and the late Prince Claus of The Netherlands, 100 art collectors and art lovers gathered at The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) for a “presentation” of the Cultural Emergency Response Program.” The prince spoke about the work of the CER which provides global “first aid” for cultural heritage that has been damaged or destroyed by man-made or natural disasters. Louk de la Rive Box, who is the Chair of the steering committee of the program, announced a new volunteer program “The Torchbearers,” a guaranteed fund, which requires a pledge of 10,000 Euros to be called upon as needed.   Michel Cox Witmer and Omara Khan Massoudi (Photo: Capital Photos/ Frank van Beek). Els van der Plas, Director of Prince Claus Fund, introduced Prince Constantijn. To help illustrate how CER works, the Royal Family asked Michel Witmer to conduct an interview with Omara Khan Massoudi, Director of the National Museum of Kabul, At the request of the Dutch Royal Family, Michel Witmer, the art historian/dealer who is the only American on the board of TEFAF interviewed Omara Khan Masoudi, General Director of Museums at the Kabul National Museum. It was Mr. Khan Masoudi who at great personal risk rescued and protected the museum’s art treasures during the Taliban regime. Under Michel’s thoughtful questioning, the Director explained how the art was secretly removed from the museum and buried in the desert for safekeeping. It was this courageous act, followed by the looting of the Iraqi Museum in Baghdad in April 2005  that provoked the founding of CER. It was Maastricht’s Centre Céramique under the directorship of Eric Wetzels that was the first one to step forward. Leading the applause for the interview were: Netherlands Parliament Members Frans Weisglas and Jozias van Aartsen; Mayor of Maastricht Gerd Leers; TEFAF’s Marketing Manager Titia Vellenga; Former Foreign Minister Hans van der Broek; Ute Magis; Honorary Consul of Afghanistan Dr. Ehsan Turabaz; Lt. General F. H. Meulman; Gaëlle de Bernède; René Hanssen; Ginger da Silva, The Netherlands Tourist Boards’ Barbara Veldkamp, Conrad von Tiggelen, and Irma Jansen, New York journalists R. Couri Hay, Jason Grant; Eveline Bots; Louk Hustinx, and Tom Postma, “architect” of TEFAF, Art Basel and Art Basel Miami.

Omara Khan Massoudi and Michel Cox Witmer

Prince Constantijn is Honorary Chairman of the Fund created by his father Prince Claus 12 years ago. The Fund’s mission is to stimulate and support activities in the field of culture and development by granting awards to individuals and organizations in African, Asian, Latin American and Caribbean countries. In his remarks the Prince said, “We marvel at the artifacts that hold the key to our history, and our ancestor’s creations make us humble. Every one of these pieces is much more than a mere object. They embody dreams and stories. They show the power of imagination and the quest for perfection. They enlighten us, excite us, draw us in. Think how shocked we’d be if they were lost or destroyed. To lose them would be to lose part of our past – our heritage.” Photographs by Roger Webster.

Eveline Bots and Louk Hustinx

Jozias van Aartsen and Frans Weisglas

Eric Wetzels

Hans van der Broek

Mayor Gerd Leers and René Hanssen

Ginger da Silva and Louk de la Rive Box

Conrad von Tiggelen and Titia Vellenga

Tom Postma and Ute Magis

Prince Constantijn, Els van der Plas, and Michel Cox Witmer

R. Couri Hay

Dr. Ehsan Turabaz, Lt. General F. H. Meulman, and Gaëlle de Bernède

Roger Webster

Jet Lag and the weather. We were booked to return to New York on Saturday afternoon. On paper it looked perfect – going against the clock so we’d be back in our respective apartments by late afternoon, giving a break before the new week started. Not quite. The drive from Maastricht to Amsterdam is about two hours. It is not a particularly interesting ride. Holland is flat. And it is neat; kept up, straightened up. In the warmer weather when the sky is blue, it must be as  beautiful as the tulips it is famous for. Under relentless grey winter skies, it is little on the monotonus side. Dutch is not one of the more beautiful languages. Conversely the Dutch are good looking people, gracious and full of humor. They have a very good nature that one can identify as “Dutch.” They are also, as we know very open-minded and accepting – a characteristic too difficult to learn for more than a few of us. The service people also exhibit all of those qualities. A job is an honorable thing to the Dutch. Whether they really think that way or not, I don’t know, but as a result those who are served are treated well. Honor covers all bases; the self-respect is contagious. And they not only speak English that is easy to the American ear, but unlike me, they speak two, three, and even four other languages. Schipol (pronounced shi-pole), the international airport in Amsterdam is well organized  and clean. Again that Dutch manner of service abounds. Poor is the man who has no patience, offered Will Shakespeare. The Dutch must be rich. The lounge for business class, however, was packed mostly with male travelers and many smokers. While I don’t really think I mind a smoke filled room, I found I do. It’s horrible. I don’t care whether or not you like to smoke; the room full of it is horrible. And horrible even for the smokers. End of protest. Fortunately our flight boarded on time and departed on time. It was a grey day, and going across the Atlantic, we ran into tremendous turbulence although the pilots (KLM) navigated it with little discomfort for the travelers.

Souvenirs from three Atlantic crossings on KLM, a little taste of the Netherlands.

As we got closer to North America there was a very thick bank of clouds so that all the way to New York I could see nothing, neither sea nor land, not for a passing moment. By Long Island the pilot announced that there would be some delay in landing because of air traffic and conditions. We dallied for more than a half hour over an area that normally would have been covered in ten minutes. At JFK we were long in making the final descent. When we did  -- through very heavy clouds, that seemed to go right to the earth -- we could see nothing. Then finally through an opening, I could see a piece of runway maybe fifty feet below. But then it was gone and zoom, up we flew, quickly, circling for several minutes before they made a second attempt to land. This time we saw no land, got close, I assume to the runway and suddenly zoomed upwards quickly again. More circling. And circling. All through dense fog. The third attempt came about a half hour later. As we began descending the entire passenger compartments were silent. The descent began to seem long. Again, though it was light out, the clouds were so thick it was impossible to see anything below. And then finally the cloud thinned some and maybe thirty feet above, we could see runway, and suddenly ... we were on the ground. Whew. Hundreds of passengers broke into applause. And gratitude. KLM is a wonderful airline with that Dutch manner I was referring to. So glad to be back, however. So glad to see the dogs and be on the streets of Manhattan. New York New York A wonderful town!

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