Cliff Schorer is a collector of art. He owns a painting by the Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn that has been missing since 1935. If he can prove that the painting is authentic and that there is consensus among Rembrandt experts that it is a genuine work from the artist, it could be worth a lot of money.
The Rembrandt head study, called “Bredius 262” which was last seen in 1935, is of an older man’s face with a big, red nose; a droopy eye; and a shaggy beard. Schorer initially thought it was a copy. But after he bought the small painting of the old man from a Maryland auction house last year for $288,000, the art detective has been working hard to prove its authenticity, provenance, and possible value.
Schorer has found a work by German Old Master Albrecht Dürer that is worth $30 at a yard sale, and he’s found a missing painting by Dutch master Hendrick Avercamp after spotting an image of it on an $18 throw pillow. But there are many copies of paintings by Rembrandt, and Schorer is not sure which one he has found.
In order for Schorer to prove he is the rightful owner of the Rembrandt, he needed to find out where it originally came from, consult other experts on Rembrandt paintings, and establish that it was produced before his students could copy it. This is in addition to his usual workload, which includes personal collecting, owning an art gallery in Agnews, and serving on the board of the Worcester Museum of Art.
Schorer’s research showed that the head study which was stolen from Josef Block, a German Jewish artist, wasn’t stolen at all, but smuggled out of Germany before the Nazis invaded. It was then sold to an art historian in the US, and Boston Magazine reports that Schorer also learned that the couple who bought it later donated it to a monastery in California. The head study was saved from the 2008 Tea Fire and was auctioned off by Weschler’s.
“When this piece reappeared on the market at our auction in September 2021 after so many years in a private collection, the magic of auction was on full display and excitement rippled through the small group of Rembrandt scholars and buyers,” Weschler’s spokesperson Allison Mulholland told. “Weschler’s has always supported further research on works that pass through our rooms and we will closely follow the development of scholarship on this painting with great interest.”
A German expert in art identification, Dr. Peter Klein, said that the painting is likely from the 1619-1620 period and was made using wood from the same tree as another Rembrandt painting.
Stephanie Dickey and Art Wheelock have helped Schorer determine that the painting of the old man in the museum may be a character study for the 1630-1631 Rembrandt painting David Playing the Harp Before Saul.
Next month, Agnews will show the painting at the Sebastian Izzard gallery in Manhattan as part of the Master Drawings New York art fair. Meanwhile, Schorer is already busy conducting research on other art finds.
Since the possible Rembrandt acquisition, Schorer told Boston Magazine that he found two different sculptures from two different places: an Egyptian priestess of Isis from a Buffalo auction house, and a “major Italian Baroque painting” from an Italian auction house.
Schorer’s ultimate goal is to find something so amazing that he would be inspired to sell everything he owns, including his paintings, homes, and gallery business. “The end goal,” he told Boston Magazine, “is to die in a cardboard box with one truly great masterpiece.”