Czére Andrea szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei (Budapest, 2007)
ISTVÁN NÉMETH: Vanishing Hopes: The Last Will of Marcell Nemes - The Museum of Fine Arts' Acquisitions from the Nemes Estate
There are several letters written by Marcell Nemes to F.J. Mather from 1927 in the archives of the Princeton University Library, all of which are connected to the affair in question. Nemes even offered to make a donation to the Princeton Museum if negotiations could be successfully concluded with Mather acting as mediator. Let me take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Margaret Sherry Rich of the Princeton University Library, who sent me photocopies of these documents. In regard to this see The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. German and Netherlandish Paintings 1450-1600, ed. B. L. Dunbar, Kansas City, Missouri 2005, 13-14. Collection Marczell de Nemes. Tableaux —Tapisseries —Emaux de Limoges —miniatures sur velin, bronzes — Orfèvrerie, W. M. Mensing, Amsterdam, 13-14 November, 1928. Mór Lipót Herzog also acquired some of the works sold at auction in Amsterdam from the Nemes Collection and from among these one work of art by Adriaen Isenbrant and one by Giovanni Santi later found their way to the Museum of Fine Arts. See e.g. "Nemes Marcel, a világhírű magyar műgyűjtő kedden délután váratlanul meghalt. A nemzet halottjaként temetik pénteken a Szépművészeti Múzeum előcsarnokábcd" [Marcell Nemes, the world-renowned Hungarian art collector died unexpectedly on Tuesday afternoon. He will be buried as one of the nation's dead on Friday; the funeral march leaves from the lobby of the Museum of Fine Arts], Magyar Hírlap, 29 October, 1930, 5. The original copy of Marcell Nemes's last will and testament written in his own hand is presently preserved in the Munich Staatsarchiv under AG München, no. 1930/2446, together with numerous other documents related to the affairs of the collector's estate. In regard to this see e.g. "Eltemették Nemes Marcellt" [The burial of Marcell Nemes], Pesti Napló, 1 November, 1930, 8. "Nemes Marcell adósságai nagyobbak, mint vagyona" [Marcell Nemes's wealth is exceeded by his debts], Reggeli Újság, 3 November, 1930, 1-2. According to the itemised list attached to the will (see note n. 11 above) Nemes left behind debts totalling some 6,032,088 marks. His biggest creditors were the Darmstädter Bank, the Dresdner Bank and the Bayrische Staatsbank, but he also owed large sums to Herzog, Zsolnay and a certain Prince Heinrich of Saxony, and in addition he left behind unpaid bills to some known art dealers such as Bernheimer, Böhler, Cassirer, Drey, and Duveen. The work in question by Colijn de Coter was one of the fifty paintings that Marcell Nemes placed special emphasis on in his will as the most valuable pieces of his collection. In accordance with Marcell Nemes's will, a seven-member committee was appointed to oversee the management of his estate. The members were the following persons: Dr. Siegfried Dispeker, secret councillor of justice (Munich), Dr. Max Gaenssler, councillor of justice (Munich), Hermann
