Gaston de Havenon

1904–1993 By Michael Hamson

Gaston de Havenon was both a dealer and collector that, while specializing in African art, also collected some masterpieces of Oceanic art—such as the world-record-setting Solomon Islands nguzu nguzu canoe prow that sold at Sotheby’s Paris on 15 June 2011 for 1,520,750 Euros.

Born in Tunis, de Havenon emigrated to the United States at the age of 25 and soon went into the perfume business, ultimately founding the Anne Haviland Company, importers of French perfume.

His involvement with tribal art started with a love of Modern art and the personal relationships established with painters in Paris on his business trip there as early as 1935. The Russian painter Kostia Terechkovitch became his dear friend and introduced him to Chaïm Soutine and Pinchus Kremegne. De Havenon was soon caught up in the artist’s ideas and enthusiasms. While living in an apartment in Greenwich Village, de Havenon met and became friends with Arshile Gorky and Isamu Noguchi. It was through these artists that he developed a passion for collecting that started with Modern art but soon moved into African art.

In his statement for the exhibition of his African art collection at the Museum of African Art, de Havenon said that it was on a transatlantic crossing by ship to France in 1950 that he met Ulfert Wilke who “opened his eyes to the primitive art with which I was to become so profoundly intrigued.”1 The photographer Eliot Elisofon encouraged him to buy his first piece of African art—a Fang mask. On de Havenon’s semiannual business trips to Europe, he got to know a number of the Parisian dealers such as René Rasmussen and Robert Duperrier, who he credits with training his eye for quality.

He initially focused on the art of the Dogon, but he “became more and more enchanted with the diversity of tribal styles which taught me to understand and love the seemingly endless ingenuity of those African artists who worked such emotion and spirituality into their three-dimensional forms.”

The collector later became a dealer with the opening of an art gallery in the Fuller Building, at Madison Avenue and 57th Street in Manhattan, that he operated until the 1970s.

In his opening statement for his 1971 Museum of African Art exhibition, he wrote an insightful passage that is relevant for all collectors of tribal art, and I think it bears quoting in full:

Unlike the purchase of a western painting which is unavoidably influenced by the name of the artist, what is challenging and exciting for the collector who selects an African sculpture is that you are completely on your own. You may have the satisfaction of looking at the painting, but as you turn a fine object between your hands you experience an emotion which is heightened by your physical contact with its detailed form and the quality and patina of the wood. This experience gives you the feeling that you become closer and somehow part of the artist who has created such a miraculous work.

1 AFRICAN ART: The de Havenon Collection, Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C.,1971

20 Upper Keram/Middle Ramu River Dancing Female Figure

Upper Keram/Middle Ramu River area, border East Sepik and Madang Provinces, Papua New Guinea Merton D. Simpson, New York Edward H. Merrin Gallery, New York, acquired from above before 1963 Pre-contact, stone-carved, early 20th century or earlier 29 ½” (74.9 cm) in height

As the Upper Keram River twists and turns to the southeast of the Lower Sepik River, it connects to the Middle Ramu River at Annaberg mission station. It is a very remote region. The present female figure has a face that is spare and concave, featuring stalk eyes, a raised nose with pierced septum, and no mouth. The arms reach up and grab an appendage coming from below the chin. There is lightness and movement to the female figure with her toes pointed down, the right leg pushed forward, and left reaching back. There is a dry softness to the surface consistent with pre-contact stone adzing.

21 Hunstein Mountain Garra Hook

Bahinemo culture, Hunstein Mountain Range, East Sepik

Province, Papua New Guinea New York private collection Early 20th century 50 ½” (128.2 cm) in height

With an art tradition defined by raw archaic power, one judges its quality by this characteristic. Yes, there is elegance and occasionally refinement sometimes found in Hunstein Mountain material, but the core is a primeval vitality expressed in rough-hewn opposed hooks. What drew me to this piece initially was the stretched-out spine with broad tabs on each end and the elliptical eye in the center. The figure is pure with a total absence of decadence.