Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Boston Raphael: A Mysterious Painting, an Embattled Museum in an Era of Change and a Daughter's Search for the Truth
The Boston Raphael: A Mysterious Painting, an Embattled Museum in an Era of Change and a Daughter's Search for the Truth
The Boston Raphael: A Mysterious Painting, an Embattled Museum in an Era of Change and a Daughter's Search for the Truth
Ebook501 pages5 hours

The Boston Raphael: A Mysterious Painting, an Embattled Museum in an Era of Change and a Daughter's Search for the Truth

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

The discovery of a previously unknown painting by an Italian Renaissance master, and how it went from media sensation to career-ending scandal.

On the eve of its centennial celebrations in December 1969, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts announced the acquisition of an unknown and uncatalogued painting attributed to Raphael. Boston’s coup made headlines around the world. Soon afterward, an Italian art sleuth began investigating the details of the painting’s export from Italy, challenged the museum’s right to ownership. Simultaneously, experts on both sides of the Atlantic lined up to debate the artwork’s very authenticity.

While these contests played themselves out on the international stage, the crisis deepened within the museum as its charismatic director, Perry T. Rathbone, faced the most challenging crossroads of his thirty-year career. The facts about the forces that converged on the museum, and how they led to Rathbone’s resignation as director, is only now fully revealed in this compelling, behind-the-scenes story that reveals how the art world, media, and museums work. This is for anyone who relishes stories of the business of art.

Praise for The Boston Raphael

“Perhaps the most exciting book on the art world since Jonathan Harr’s The Lost Painting.” ―The Boston Globe

“In the compelling story of her father, Perry Rathbone, and the years when he was the elegant and revolutionary director of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Belinda Rathbone evokes our country’s most glamorous years . . .  The Boston Raphael is a combination of personal memoir and rich, deliciously detailed history that will keep you turning the pages.” ―Susan Cheever

LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 1, 2014
ISBN9781567925401
The Boston Raphael: A Mysterious Painting, an Embattled Museum in an Era of Change and a Daughter's Search for the Truth
Author

Belinda Rathbone

Belinda Rathbone is a photography historian who has written widely on modern and contemporary photographers. She is the author of 'Walker Evans: A Biography', a New York Times Notable Book of 1995, and has contributed to magazines such as House & Garden and Architectural Digest. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Related to The Boston Raphael

Related ebooks

Art For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Boston Raphael

Rating: 4.142857142857143 out of 5 stars
4/5

7 ratings2 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Belinda Rathbone, daughter of Perry Rathbone who was director of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston from 1955 to 1973, recounts her father's biography, focusing on the "scandal" in 1972. Using some dealings that may not have been completely aboveboard, Rathbone procured a previously unknown portrait, said to have been painted by Raphael. Between the efforts of a self-serving Italian "art sleuth" and an obnoxious board president, Rathbone is forced to retire.Belinda Rathbone does an excellent of job of fair-handed writing. She obviously admires him, but is willing to admit that he may have made some errors. I came away from the book with strong feelings about all of the characters, and I attribute that to the excellent writing.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Very interesting and highly readable account of a possibly shady art deal. Extremely even-handed and apparently objective, even though it was written by the daughter of the very charismatic museum director. Well documented, interesting footnotes. I highly recommend this book to anyone with any interest in art, museums, history of Boston, and fathers.

Book preview

The Boston Raphael - Belinda Rathbone

qebook_preview_excerpt.html}ْGv寄i$YV5ViE@33YJ$a?ͦü_2{#2dlTU,rn<6 }Oo|}LCwnq?ݓoY߇8 r]|tz5&?n׽zq/w7Y̍~Q 8OvE>UaTRv_˓CJV'aFp>V/d=nEUnpP-+I T8yRo1zV?zb ߻0Q]T\JAy;_V3~!1 ez:E&q݋.$">t}ț^M/OmPSXN^vMBq= OBw=$dpEmi)塷(ǕV͵/Zi;J^RMdJU)HU:VIUomYέ}nv[o]ݎ2Ȗlޯ|ڸH?Ǿ<{_/]=듻'ѽ|U}Sٲ0MϿo/*㈸ݻ޻siu4+t! !zAu0)4'E&|=<8G(|}y݇ȕgB(lvi> kNZ5+×j{p/M__O哷gW禾vKw]z\qgTS׊H?^{r]ᓿw*VA4a<֫9_T;P ]‡O r]&Z=7}XWoC=\Y}ŽV% Iuv;quS51n` b3viCQir`Lv5&xi&8Lwb#o/M/m(筐gXP=;9oaM6Mď=o=`E~X4ZTâ%կgϫ翔G.\N~Q _tw/HM^]k0#r#8QޫC&|2 k[b:'v^m\#j( "qU/wUڊ@UbE l|O颃ƾ> )l_H#~Vdw}~8@Cv~sKrZrO~;9Ly yk)U[ƭO1LvJ 腡;dv[׺ObJջPײ49=E \TGN]60 oT˻xu@zW M:~M7~WڞryeY1lc7ڑ5$A,==;'ҁv)Hwa3w*c=8W9!Fj~ڱMڨp% n `nٰ(s'U_+uR:d][NGC7 ).4 C/$[jA8R(k7@\$jiEmW,hyhZa`P]NS55#PNf1 셔;Lqߐ*J/X^G\ 7"p_u'xAZQ`pV,'[,P^уʵr/^B5S-κ72 e}}@o()dQXr,}m+.G%ytYjU'$/|xV0g_Cr8aA4 E\\Y ( &{)Lֶ&Ef&CtX(wApoUKx~u셾Q'[Za$+8'hg`m 57|̚`fa/;TyX\8r9zX*WL8y8\XμsrF1M8QTH-H֏߽Vd4nEa $;Oaĸw^d l2弧N  8l0ixQ3~W\f-z]w}uP 6 CoĄ1n2Fj&!,=cwF5'h,')}|j+'wkҲrM-2]{F ^(ݱM.!Tixؾ6Xh ]i/יs*\Zp-N#ldQGS|eu@ C]9 W@_|" ?.]B,GE<PQē'hjU$U!֟otOnQ:sPfE-xS6*&>'х sH+hVx&sva6JQ4&8DD|Ok%,IN}(jn.$TE36mrP p'ډa֭L'@ q؏,p9ĒRf΢*JaX #C6rqlLT{8"G݇ )ZtEU&5ԙU4#F̮QxW6( ;u&ڪNLd*d΅B" F EL0PO߼~qg?MNN-LOWD4HGP7C%ȓub,GD^e"^ٷ]$8 +[RVn;V1)h T$ 2AIɴ%@ >,k )bH@C%Gy{arҹl"`Ec(u 1dansW-VDcZb38m`lрJܒE uP=Nh(A]=F .e%RlJvP9&ܠnuAƨ*ZG0$VZ5KaWT[d@D.y:D{W ZҐ]'QZ{ 2pU@`{pJK p/ed:yP>ӕp0W4-~S vQ(D#X$åg㥷9^# +K{`oP. }3kV)+:Z x#w5JuTE~K1rqA+pm,`ՠD)+`;XS)_('u㠹حDX"(b͍yMq=ڀ.Ѯh[y:w dNx| ~ĸ`!!-qPIn>)gU\,LLNmL1ad~Ud:CcE[b$sjUYx&@Lc$#a=lK@d%A=8BESw#Ar5BfWP3/%5Nh$G|:# 4+r#E\ qgPq-)fӮDi7co!ŒF>ӓmD~v`e>T/xvlV9^#A* @ +QpB:7Zv*X:##%jhQMvHf\ܐ+=Fdur=rT(O,!krQ03R٩ }Ĕ~q.‚ `X#WL nk!6AO1dF(kY<9_]P `\T/laOws% ^;(=ȐvQGL:g4Aea8\YZ]Sfr 1MbKr "a֞9 q脣7 ˜7DBXCpS]"svVg*5хC8 +S_cJm (7bMPpmm1 8;:Bة|zٱu!˺XQ4[/CTWڸ|V\F.,՝9M~4E@;rFπi#K3WZ@Mkjs59&XFcI(`N^k w5MYF{ꏛ-]`1o45~%ZQ~|}&&Iԇ +j{dOTOjohwkB8ZXK`wǃc'"w/Bx [)?f5&"V {= O*ҜE"\F`2% ]HPD34Q }Mn/tۍ6!kA4dnPpHWne/7Z؜,>]f &,e/9PqxӜYj͂R'uL:8 㔶D|WN 5(hi &ZO8,tZ+ ƖW<,hAeЄ&t˞% x~W #BԄV<¤ֵKt z8qB,AtǷ* A,e|eBI~ hn\R5Hv.I =-FF w"Mη+Ub[E 5Z( Rw؆(AlB-;Yc  1R.Eo F1xDSd`Fb =,4OM* dW.x.M#N\\1P,~Br rM4j j͂)2a͈H;Vk:,'Rw'R!4v +K3~|B{4l{9?5@ZwA'*l[XH/ξUJL\-J Dq #'_N"zRC[80{J"‰:.j!mN3e#*CWi5JOE~.d}C(+0y֌p kX? 9o&L{aζ+ği3TT6LB)ۘ{J*R6"ff5oZВv;H0!i~hxyEp5 K K3r՚m'm$^չ`-SX%WKI)aغKfIk4ť& $ vdu"Qԣ$Yi΢KYca? ݂u:ɤL<1%v]0wuTX*ڹ~"Y̯#boj7j)Nm\D&zeɝ; -~P>G\1z$EyfedWwl:gh8H%Pbw2[wKkX4&TU+wjA`mh=+,5CHND4Yʅ,ՙ^ z#p ˉ[L_jXWYEJX=Ga_xdeSZéy%b;JeX{Xs4_X@q\r͖HF_rԗyDFpZp[ɨk#ƫȜjXTZ:wm!mVT*tc  mvt#seSV'zf2#XAevtv D:* IpT)ܱ@3l=c3yYJg/`uO`=N܀u^)& n,kF1gɍ A]<6w š:Ha -ÆP~6U,埋bA5t&4S.wA**F#R DWRR8]ެ7e>!`ҜkvNNP;FО RUnI2?? 5SaV" R}4c1V;2b >ءҠ!Ҧ:9,%uk`&(hzc5Yb MGh-##j".dubt݈ ӊi 6'frT)k?c޵+E%WFN6]E/8VE5#dBfDv:uZ79Џ6 ;rV= 1~]ǝfOw;&PJŲ/4;vJQAVItY!AEVN`9$DkJ}ױhlz)9@%`r]y|9~"(–`.v۝CFX-^=ChQ(h0`N~t8+h!noXZ'ʠΓp|/σs1.YOwШ.oCTp=7"Ey~h0G4:&E\ : g(Uʩvf~deW:4E5^DlY1Y2R*vB.[AiDUI R2]squ"{"~V-Ih_ր Lo[VM܋Vor$$2reѡ["=Re-[L}>y D%]F*hkʞi[kar(Zԫ&>Eu@0)r_ #_G' -m&7}uΩ2r@y6$tأcwS3D7ZPFԫDe/i@iЯs]ː3J={h/첮) ǝHO3 y[Z$qc}!cV!blJa~o9؏|tyX[IbݻuXBeG220S$ka?B{~6MA[r5zS Iة7+?Zqe&=\@5܈ksp)tvp]llr;RiBOEi2.ͷĭ_`0Jf%NeBɵ "KDho5۱Q&f7(݁"'' lSvdκZ'&a4 lBA4A^1aV#6>&,\wνK̮, W3DX35%ʉW14LPœz j2t"]U԰DVХT\(FH.ع"mMYh$_Wjx<* v:c7 /6'Y2.eGs~M:CG Qf>H]k%ۙV914cI# Ql`0f ,@C7wysQi iwVvӐݤ!U*<?T?ધb.*d ?o9_B/J}?Ai69eB>gBT˦r.#gztm54{댂;nr;+9NZ"RWovɹCKyX\D2PF#$.E\ƙYoc#O (TtxyY Qt W L.DD5qL;z]hT3G?huryP(C9%w։jU$"ָXY@s:;\p=vszfzGk@u Zfۜ9xd?ٿT>YYʾc.eЩG ^"\š|``*'QQXj搐 Պ>:dfHĸ+?3vmFٮ?"yAqǵ*MIaِ9䫴;/Qjj=[9qɖuhY˦ L2Sј ,]`սjp$qV'+. [&J+rsnzQv]Pb'Dk{ْ|;B+T?WSW˗䐵$ǐDHl7b4*Qjn1r4>'v䩎/SnS3ׅg 92V6XL+Z$f@fZ|h>[}R^! mQSJwJ3kvN5d99>T^ J9Dނ%o'C Tk ?E{y(F9.R3erTm$Z~E?>е3ê lު؊CK%|= )lgc\e=>bbc "ĎzxQ„s7-=L)8Rͼ,DCF{Vc6oCe+˭TG.0xeh 868*Eom74A*퐃A]Z|5kk3R\݇g5ƭavC/.rB+ez#*xSɡPrER+n4LM4< 0@X"6eMDXUEuX dD RVj%|3Krc z5gA&'4ϳDŽAxg!H얽myޏI2PD?)U_Rĸ6-P͙2\'5dMT;+Xr=a1'Ae^>e2 A\j*Tܢ\%p LD)Sb "unm6)4È jA$61H8&R&,&3)c#یPӚ@||^Plj6YIɯM.G4ʖ7S:gnlj1}> /j(-BfͼSN)³? =U?qtŚۂ|4[Z3%>SrQNjc4 8-"M*RTj6Yqzo @I//I"6kwrLCƕQ-"!Zfrt>?rihK+)ZQGJnYnpU&cX^ZkONOY.`G1õ|UgE/0epסeP HӱD#lRڎo% &9YZ /_GP/x^=)ybaɪzv83:IcDz1@/C?rC(´ְ7F3)ն#C7l}z{" aa?[a%|QNqds!6m 6wxik!V0ݛ4}qB,k|YZ@vK.*k-Qt65z4Ơ˦leyV-'gJ{dصX2Xm+LOL4_IQ  E+(Ju_:=>9 5d™4GCU%1"NHyB% :'+%(T5@w5^L?׎p?WOXiqt:|o-يAAxśOy=K:n9 p|)  ٘z$ZWgRgHmoix *|(.Ff^~6↱3X7fFFFSc Gl ~l@M)OSZedB$ ݣ?KjǞ(^ߜENݧ|ua'"4Z)B\sTq*Tb]emktNVb:,uD->QK-C9.cQVtX~BxH[ ;T~tY$|o԰9Q6t0wm3kۺYgNgsnf4Y>}s?xZ.Ѧ$$xTȠ7 35;?uQ8`k= `$W(I6^ה*HTtLk_$@ʥV\.ߌ`,Gۡ]UؐXW 2-I,,-p%e`u+5+\GR/{&05meba`efJ4ھǹNQ挐EpJarXil2y-?ArѾZN-J|SxPZrhRdLjſ>4H$[`~3!&XX?D;2Ě~jLh"}:Oĺ3Bi`|:yhf{,3mWUG߄iǤfvE羋`6`/jgA YȮU mjP0ަi^*7 NI ^.rg$7jZ+}m~ƃ"Vf,W5 ʹZ8p,ުeqUS=h{$b>gl6זE@S:&TaZktiwʚhƇ~9k"MDZs,Xݰ,!Em9r t=i#mo}r0P7#3 |~xyc8xK}m:'|ȌTtL F3(-@]"7]o(Ṱh#gmNڎam|\gM &_g)xc)e}PuCUWXzy,1W *0gc}J -hf/>'$+L>\һ
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1