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This sandbox is in the article namespace. Either move this page into your userspace, or remove the {{User sandbox}} template. Charles Carstairs (August 1865 - July 1928)[1] was an American art dealer. Throughout his career, Carstairs encouraged American clients to invest in European Old Master paintings. [2]. He worked closely with industrial magnate Henry Clay Frick, and was responsible for Frick's acquisition of the 'Ilchester Rembrandt' in 1906. [3]

Early Life

Carstairs was born in Philadelphia on August 3rd 1865, the 3rd son of James Carstairs and Mary White Carstairs (nee Haddock).[4]

Career

In 1886, Carstairs began working for his father-in-law (Charles Field Hazeltine) at Hazeltine Gallery in Pittsburgh.[5]. After working for Hazeltine for seven years, Carstairs began working for Knoedler & Co. in New York City, where he first made contact with Henry Clay Frick[6]. In 1897, Carstairs was sent to Pittsburgh to lead the newly opened Knoedler & Co. branch at 432 Wood Street. Here, he began promoting Old Master paintings to Pittsburgh's industrial rich.[7] From Pittsburgh, Carstairs moved to England in 1908 to lead Knoedler's London branch, which had opened in 1902 at 15 Old Bond Street.[8] [9] Carstairs' reoriented the London gallery's focus from contemporary Parisian artists to Old Master paintings.[10] The outbreak of World War 1 interrupted international trade, but also lead to the movement of many Old Master Art works to the United States due to concerns for the safety of many art works. This movement of art works was advantageous, both to American dealers such as Knoedler & Co. and collectors such as Henry Clay Frick. In 1915, Carstairs stated, "England acquired her great Masterpieces during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars and now America's opportunity has come." [11]

In 1928, upon Roland Knoedler's retirement, Charles Carstairs, his son Carroll Carstairs, Charles Henschel (Knoedler's nephew), and Carmen Mesmore took up the management of the Knoedler & Co.[12]. From this point, Charles Carstairs acted as chairman of the board at Knoedler & Co.. [13]

Relationship with Henry Clay Frick

Carstairs acted as Frick's preferred dealer for some time. In his later years, Frick was increasingly influenced by Joseph Duveen, however, the large quantity of Old Master Paintings in Frick's collection demonstrates Carstairs' influence on Frick's taste. In 1908, Frick wrote in a letter to Carstairs "there is no-one whose judgment of the beautiful I have more confidence in than yours". [14] In his relocation from Pittsburgh to New York, Frick was thrown into an increasingly competitive environment of conspicuous consumption [15]. Carstairs turned Frick's attention to increasingly expensive Old Masters paintings as well as artworks that carried social prestige, such as, aristocatic portraits and encouraged Frick to invest in such art as a means of bolstering his reputation. [16]

The two remained close friends over Frick's lifetime. Not only did Carstairs aid in the designs for Frick's East 70th Street mansion [17] but he also acted as an honorary pallbearer at Frick's funeral.[18]

Personal Life

In 1886, Carstairs married Esther Holmes Hazeltine (29th April 1864 - 15 January 1907). [19]. Carstairs and Hazeltine had four children, Charles Hazeltine Carstairs (August 1886 – 26 October 1919), Carroll Chevalier Carstairs (20 March 1888 – 2 October 1948), James Stewart Carstairs (2 June 1890 – 20 September 1932) and Elizabeth “Lily” Haseltine Carstairs (2 November 1892 – April 1977).

In 1928, shortly after being announced chairman of the board for Knoedler & Co., Charles Carstairs died of a heart attack.[20]

References

  1. ^ Saltzman, 2008, p. 264.
  2. ^ Saltzman, 2008, p. 242.
  3. ^ Saltzman, 2008, p. 181
  4. ^ Jordan, 1911, p. 874.
  5. ^ McIntosh, 1997, p. 113.
  6. ^ Saltzman, 2008, p. 173.
  7. ^ Cannadine, 2006, p. 129.
  8. ^ Bailey, 2006, p. 21.
  9. ^ Saltzman, 2008, p. 170.
  10. ^ Saltzman, 2008, p. 170.
  11. ^ Saltzman, 2008, p. 242.
  12. ^ Saltzman, 2008, p. 268.
  13. ^ McIntosh,1997, p. 113
  14. ^ Bailey, 2006, p. 70.
  15. ^ Saltzman, 2008, p. 173.
  16. ^ Saltzman, 2008, p. 162.
  17. ^ Bailey, 2006, p. 70.
  18. ^ Saltzman, 2008, p. 264.
  19. ^ Jordan, 1911, p. 874.
  20. ^ Saltzman, 2008, p. 264.

Bibliography

  • Bailey, Colin B., Building The Frick Collection: An Introduction to the House and Its Collections, New York, NY, The Frick Collection, 2006
  • Cannadine, David, Mellon: An American Life, New York, NY, Random House Inc., 2006
  • Jordan, John W., Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania, Genealogical and Personal Memoirs, vol. I, New York, NY, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1911
  • McIntosh, DeCourcy E., "Demand and Supply: The Pittsburgh Art Trade and M. Knoedler & Co.",Collecting in the Gilded Age: Art Patronage in Pittsburgh, 1890-1910, Pittsburgh, PA, Frick Art and Historical Centre, 1997
  • Saltzman, Cynthia. Old Masters, New World: America's Raid on Europe's Great Pictures, 1880 - World War I New York, NY.: Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2008.

Further Reading

  • Weisberg, Gabriel, 'Collecting in the Gilded Age: Art Patronage in Pittsburgh, 1890-1910, Pittsburgh, PA, Frick Art and Historical Centre, 1997
  • Reist, Dr. Inge, British Models of Art Collecting and the American Response: Reflections Across the Pond, New York, NY, The Frick Collection, 2014
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