Johnny Van Haeften

Photo by David Spero

Johnny Van Haeften

Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder Jan Brueghel the Elder Pieter Brueghel the Younger Jacob van Hulsdonck Hendrick Terbrugghen Navigating a Shrinking Art Market Old Masters Auction Action: 1999–2009

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What was your biggest sale of the season?

We have had an extraordinary year. In the run-up to TEFAF Maastricht, we sold some of our more expensive pictures: three by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, two by Pieter Brueghel the Younger and two by Jan Brueghel the Elder. At the fair we sold a wonderful painting of oranges and lemons by Jacob van Hulsdonck for around $1 million.

What was the high point of the season?

The leader has to be Hendrik Terbrugghen’s Bagpipe Player in Profile, 1624, from the Sotheby’s New York Old Masters sale in January. It’s an amazing painting. We bought it in partnership with my colleagues Otto Naumann and Konrad Bernheimer and 10 days later negotiated a sale with the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., which had been the underbidder.

What should have sold from your inventory but is still available?

One painting stands out: Jan Brueghel the Elder’s Jonah and the whale. Three museums are interested in it, as are four private collectors, so it’s just a question of someone knuckling down. We’re asking £1.9 million [$2.8 million].

What should a collector consider when buying a work?

The foremost thing has to be quality — quality and condition go hand in hand.

"Johnny Van Haeften" originally appeared in the June 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's June 2009 Table of Contents.