AN ARTIST'S JOURNAL
Edited and prepared for the Internet by Ronald Davis
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Stanley Roseman - An Artist's Journal
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    "The art dealer Flavia Ormond of Flavia Ormond Fine Arts Limited, London, and an alumnus of the Courtauld Institute, purchased from me in 1997 my portrait of the Benedictine monk Brother Adolf, seen above. I drew the portrait at the Archabbey of St. Ottilien, Bavaria, in 1984, the year that commemorates the one-hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Monastery.
Further information pertinent to Roseman's work on the Monastic Life
and his drawings from the Archabbey of St. Ottilien
'This is, as far as I know, the first time any artist of note has undertaken such a project.
Roseman's work has greatly impressed those of us in the monastic world
who have been fortunate enough to see it. His pictures are technically of the highest quality,
and he has succeeded in a remarkable way in conveying the spiritual dimension of his subjects.' "

- Dom Victor Dammertz, OSB
  Archabbot of St. Ottilien (1975-1977)
  Abbot Primate of the Order of St. Benedict (1977-1992)
  Bishop of Augsburg (1993-2004)
     The Director General of the Vatican Museums, Professor Carlo Pietrangeli, acquired in 1987 four Roseman drawings from the Archabbey of St. Ottilien for the Vatican Museums. The suite of drawings from St. Ottilien's centenary year includes a drawing of Brother Adolf.
The column at the entrance of the Albertina,
Vienna, 1983,
displaying the exhibition posters
 Raphael in der Albertina and
Stanley Roseman - Zeichnungen aus Klöstern
.
    "Dom Victor Dammertz invited Ronald and me in 1979 to be his guests at the Badia Primaziale Sant'Anselmo, the residence of the Abbot Primate in Rome. Ronald, who was raised in the Roman Catholic faith, assisted me in researching and planning our itinerary to the monasteries and took on the responsibilities for organizing our journey. We had begun our travels to the monasteries the year before in England and Ireland, crossed the Continent to Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and behind the then Iron Curtain, to Hungary and Poland. We concluded the year in Italy at the Abbey of Subiaco, founded in the sixth century by Benedict of Nursia, whose Rule, called the Rule of St. Benedict, is the basis of monastic observance in the Western Church. The Abbot Primate was greatly encouraging to Ronald and me for the continuation of our work, for which I am sincerely appreciative."
    "In a deeply meaningful letter to the Vatican about my work on the monastic life, the eminent Abbot Primate of the Order of St. Benedict writes:
- Dr. Walter Koschatzky, Director
  Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna
     The Teyler Museum's third acquisition of Roseman's work includes the St. Ottilien drawing depicting Father Damian kneeling in prayer, a drawing from the Monastery's centenary year. In an equally enthusiastic letter to Davis, Dr. Carel van Tuyll, Curator of the Art Collection, writes of  'the two splendid drawings' and thoughtfully adds 'we  are proud that we are now able to show such a rounded and representative group of Mr. Roseman's drawings in the Teyler Museum.'
     The Teyler Museum in 1986 made a third acquisition of Roseman's work on the monastic life. The acquisition included a drawing from St. Ottilien. The Museum's first acquisition, in 1985, was of two of the artist's drawings from the monasteries. In an enthusiastic letter to Davis, who introduced his colleague's work to the Teyler Museum, Eric Ebbinge, Director, writes: "Moreover, we felt that the 'Rembrandtesque' (if one may call them so) qualities of the portrait of Sister Immaculata in particular would take on an added dimension in the context of the Dutch drawings in the Teyler Collection." The Director of the Teyler Museum made a second acquisition the following year of "two beautiful drawings" of a Carthusian monk from St. Hugh's Charterhouse, Parkminster, the only Carthusian monastery today in England.
Stanley Roseman - Zeichnungen aus Klöstern at the Albertina
"You have delivered to me two drawings by Stanley Roseman, which I have acquired for the Albertina.
I thank you and want to express my conviction that the artist is an outstanding draughtsman and painter
to whom much recognition and success are due.''

     The Graphische Sammlung Albertina was the first museum to acquire Roseman's drawings from the monasteries. Dr. Walter Koschatzky, Director, had written in September 1978 a warm letter of invitation to the artist's colleague Ronald Davis: "I am looking forward to meeting you here in Vienna in November and to seeing drawings by your friend Stanley Roseman." The artist was seven months into his work on the monastic life when Davis met Dr. Koschatzky in early November 1978 at the Albertina to show him a selection of Roseman's recent drawings as well as transparencies of his paintings and drawings on various subjects and themes.
     Dr. Koschatzky purchased two drawings that Roseman had made the previous month: a portrait of Brother Theodore, a white-bearded Trappist monk from Westmalle Abbey, in the province of Antwerp; and a drawing of three monks seated in choir from the Trappist Abbey of St. Sixtus, Flanders. At the conclusion of their cordial meeting, the eminent Director of the Albertina thoughtfully wrote Davis a letter acknowledging the acquisition of the drawings and praising the artist for his work:
     The respected Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad published a laudatory reportage on Roseman's work on the monastic life and states:
"This is work that reaches impressive heights,
especially in the portraits of these men and women."

- NRC Handelsblad, Rotterdam - Amsterdam
     The Albertina exhibition Stanley Roseman-Zeichnungen aus Klöstern opened on 6 September 1983. The then 38-year old artist was further honored by the Albertina opening the exhibition of his drawings concurrently with the opening of the exhibition Raphael in der Albertina presenting the Museum's Raphael drawings on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the Renaissance master's birth.
     At the opening of the exhibitions, Dr. Koschatzky gave an address welcoming the President of Austria, the Burgomaster of Vienna, and invited guests, including members of the 25th International Congress of Art Historians having convened in Vienna. The Director of the Albertina warmly introduced the work of Stanley Roseman and praised him as "a master draughtsman.''
     The exhibition of Roseman's drawings at the world-renowned Albertina brought great prestige to the artist and his work.
     The exhibition posters feature two drawings from the collection of the Albertina: Raphael's Madonna with a Pomegranate, c.1504, black-gray chalk; and Roseman's Brother Thijs in the Library, 1982, chalks on gray paper, St. Adelbert Abbey, the Netherlands.
Additional words of praise for Roseman's work
''STANLEY ROSEMAN combines an innate artistic talent, expressed through a wide range of techniques, with a profound interest in the human condition in portraying different kinds of people, professions,
social or artistic groups. With a seriousness that pushes him always further in treating a subject or theme,
he continually clarifies and refines, never letting his interest waiver or diminish.''
[2]
- Bibliothèque Nationale de France
     Roseman's work received international, critical acclaim, including laudatory reviews in The New York Times and The Times, London, and is represented in important museums and private collections.
     The Bibliothèque Nationale de France states in a biographical essay on the artist:
Concerning Rosebery's auction house
     The Roseman portrait of Dom Pierre was drawn in the same medium on gray paper with the same dimensions as the artist's portrait of Brother Adolf. Roseman's drawings on the monastic life are related as for medium and dimensions on gray, ochre, or beige paper. Due to the growing international recognition of Roseman as a master draughtsman and the acquisitions of the artist's work by important museums, Portrait of Dom Pierre was sold at the opening of the New York City exhibition Master Drawings, 1998, at a price higher than the Swiss bank statement some eight years before.
    "And then there is Rosebery's in the Old Chocolate Factory with Ian Cadzow, Managing Director; and Marcus Grey, paintings and drawings department, attempting to grossly undervalue and lessen the importance of my monumental, critically acclaimed, and ecumenical work on the monastic life. Rosebery's is publishing an estimate of £100-£150 and mistitling my work. 'Study of a Monk' is not the title of my portrait of the Benedictine monk Brother Adolf. 'Study of a monk' is Rosebery's title. The portrait is not a study: The portrait is an autonomous work of art - signed, dated, and inscribed by me, Stanley Roseman.
     As of 2022, other websites engaged in copyright infringement of Roseman's drawing of Brother Adolf and publishing incorrect information include: MutualArt.com, Invaluable.com, Artprice.com, epaiLive.com, the blogspot of Old Chelsea Gallery, Staunton, Virginia, as well as Rosebery's Auction house, London.
- Intellectual Property Office
  United Kingdom
"Use of a copyright protected work without its owner's permission may be a civil infringement and/or a criminal offence depending on the circumstances."
     Roseman and Davis presented the Pope with a gift of the fine drawing of Brother Florian, whom the artist drew as the young Polish monk and philosophy student played the recorder. The Pope had been shown photographs of a selection of Roseman's work, which included portraits as well as drawings of monks and nuns at prayer, work, and study. Pope John Paul, who had an interest in music and the arts from the days of his youth, was of great encouragement to Roseman.
     The Pope expressed his admiration for the scope and spiritual depth of Roseman's work on the monastic life. Pope John Paul II took hold of Roseman's arm as they spoke and said:
"Stanley, your beautiful paintings and drawings devoted to contemplation and prayer promote a spirit of friendship and understanding
between Christians and Jews and all people of goodwill."

Pope John Paul II receiving Stanley Roseman (center),
and Ronald Davis at the Vatican, March 21, 1979.
- Pope Saint John Paul II
1. The Oxford scholar and Benedictine monk Dom Bernard Green read a draft of Roseman's manuscript
    and wrote in a cordial letter to the artist: "You portray the background and the aims of life in monasteries so well,
    showing such a deep understanding of the monastic life.''
2. Stanley Roseman - Dessins sur la Danse à l'Opéra de Paris (text in French and English),
    (Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale de France, 1996), p. 11, 12.
3. Peter Schatborn, Rembrandt: the Master& his Workshop: Drawings & Etchings
    (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991), p. 10.
Further Notice of Copyright Infringement
Pope Saint John Paul II receiving Stanley Roseman (center) and Ronald Davis at the Vatican, 1979.
    "Flavia Ormond writes to me in a letter dated 14 October 1997: 'I very much like the drawing of Brother Adolf and I am extremely grateful for your special offer on the price.'
    "In further correspondence, on 17 October, 1997, Flavia Ormond writes: 'Thank you so much for your fax of today. I will send the deposit off today or first thing on Monday morning. . . . Also thank you again for the special price of $5,000. I am very grateful.'
    "The documentation I provided Flavia Ormond at Flavia Ormond Fine Arts, Limited, states my name, the title of my drawing, the name of the monastery, and the pertinent information regarding the date, medium, and dimensions of the drawing.
Information pertinent to the Roseman drawing of the Benedictine monk Brother Adolf from the Archabbey of St. Ottilien
    "With a thoughtful invitation from Archabbot Notker Wolf, I drew at St. Ottilien in 1984, the centenary year of the monastery's founding. I had drawn at St. Ottilien in previous years and enjoyed a cordial relationship with Abbot Notker and the former Abbot of St. Ottilien, Dom Victor Dammertz, who was at that time Abbot Primate of the Order of St. Benedict.
Master Drawings
This drawing by Stanley Roseman is reproduced and disseminated
on the Internet without the artist's authorization.
The artist's signature is eliminated from the lower right side of his drawing.
An Audience with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican
     Archabbot Notker Wolf donated a pair of Roseman's drawings from St Ottilien's centenary year to the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung in Munich, a city whose name derives from the Old German "Munichen," meaning "home of the monks."
     Pope John Paul II warmly received Roseman and Davis at the Vatican on March 21st, the Feast of St. Benedict, 1979. The Polish Pope was in the first six months of his pontificate and had not yet returned to his homeland. Acutely aware of the difficulty for those outside the Eastern Bloc Countries to obtain the necessary entry visas, as well as to travel on their own behind the then Iron Curtain, Pope John Paul expressed his great appreciation to Roseman and Davis for their having made the journey to Poland to include the monks of the Benedictine Abbey of Tyniec, near Krakow, in the artist's work on the monastic life.
    "I was introduced to Flavia Ormond by a dealer of master drawings whom Ronald and I met in 1995 and who sold several of my drawings. The art dealer said that Flavia Ormond, a dealer of master drawings, had expressed interest in my work. The art dealer thoughtfully refrained from taking a commission in the sale. The name of the art dealer who introduced me to Flavia Ormond will remain confidential here as the matter with Rosebery's directly concerns Flavia Ormond, who purchased the drawing from me.
     The Albertina exhibition included drawings representative of the Benedictine, Cistercian, Trappist, and Carthusian Orders, the four monastic Orders of the Western Church. The Archabbey of St. Ottilien was represented with the drawing of Brother Erwin, the Abbey's white-bearded and bespectacled assistant librarian, whom the artist drew during his sojourn at St. Ottilien in 1982.
     The website stanleyroseman-monasticlife.com presents an extensive selection of the artist's work and excerpts from his comprehensive text written to accompany his paintings and drawings.[1] The website features a page on the Albertina exhibition Stanley Roseman-Zeichnungen aus Klöstern.
     The distinguished American collector John Davis Hatch (1907-1996), Cofounder and first Director of Master Drawings Association, New York City, acquired a portrait of a French Trappist monk, Frère Samuel; a portrait of a Spanish Trappist monk, Padre Hipólito; and a drawing of a French Benedictine monk and cook, Frère Christian working in the kitchen. In enthusiastic correspondence with the artist's colleague, John Davis Hatch writes in acquiring the drawings: "I very much appreciate Stanley's allowing me to have them - as they are great additions to my drawing collection.''
     The editor of this website, with more than fifty-years in partnership with Roseman, would like to express his sincere gratitude to Dr. Walter Koschatzky for his gracious hospitality at the Albertina and his great encouragement to Roseman. Davis worked closely with Dr. Koschatzky in the preparation for the exhibition and enjoyed a cordial relationship with the eminent Director, who augmented the museum's first purchase of two of Roseman's drawings in 1978 with additional acquisitions of five of the artist's drawings from the monasteries. Dr. Koschatzky also acquired for the Albertina Roseman's drawing of Mikhail Baryshnikov in performance at the American Ballet Theatre in New York City, 1975.
     Following the exhibition Zeichnungen aus Klöstern, the Director of the Albertina acquired for the collection a portrait that Roseman had drawn of Davis in 1978 of which the editor of this website is proud to mention here. In a most thoughtfully expressed, handwritten letter of November 1983 to Roseman,'' Dr. Walter Koschatzky writes, with the personal salutation: "Dear Stanley, . . . I find that this drawing, too, is a genuine masterpiece and especially impressive to me.''
     The art dealer of master drawings mentioned above, who had introduced Roseman to Flavia Ormond, included in his 1998 New York City gallery exhibition Master Drawings an impressive portrait by Roseman of a French Benedictine monk, Dom Pierre. The invitation to the exhibition lists the artists and reads as follows:
     The quoted passage above is from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France exhibition publication Stanley Roseman - Dessins sur la Danse à l'Opéra de Paris, Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra, 1996.  The biographical essay on the artist concludes: "Stanley Roseman's drawings show the many facets of his great talents as a draughtsman." See stanleyrosemandance.com.
Further Praise for Roseman's work on the Monastic Life
     Praise from the international press for Roseman's work is quoted on Page 1 and includes The Times, London; Jornal do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro; ARA arte religioso actual, Madrid, and the Los Angeles Times. Quoted above is NRC Handelsblad, Rotterdam-Amsterdam."
     The Associated Press, Rome, enthusiastically writes of Roseman's work: "A stunning series of drawings depicting the monastic life.''
     Aftonbladet, Stockholm, published in its Sunday magazine a cover story on the artist. The leading Swedish daily commends Roseman for creating portraits "artistically on a high level as well as accurately expressive of the human dimension.'' 
     Reaffirming here what the Bibliothèque Nationale de France writes in its biographical essay on the artist: "Stanley Roseman lived in monasteries of monks and nuns of the four contemplative orders throughout Europe and created an extensive oeuvre of chalk drawings profoundly expressive of the individual and the interior life.''
   On the preceding page Roseman confronts the auction house for undervaluing his work on the monastic life with the estimate £100. - £150. Roseman raises questions concerning subject, religion, and current art movements. Rosebery's is publishing its own title "Study of a monk.'' That is not the title of the portrait of Brother Adolf. Roseman's drawings are not studies: his drawings are autonomous works of art - signed, inscribed, and dated by the artist.
   Rosebery's auction house eliminated the artist's signature from its reproduction and publishes incorrect information regarding the medium of the drawing.
   The artist also addresses the disturbing matter of Rosebery's listing this same drawing auctioned and sold at the same low price on two different dates with different lot numbers: 11 August 2012, lot 750; and 19 January 2013, lot 482.*
Value of Roseman's Drawings on the Monastic Life.
At the entrance to the Albertina, Vienna, the column displaying the posters announcing the museum's exhibitions "Raphael in der Albertina" and "Stanley Roseman - Zeichnungen aus Klöstern," 1983. © Photo by Ronald Davis
Stanley Roseman's impressive portrait of a Benedictine monk was auctioned by Rosebery's auction house, West Norwood, London. Rosebery's has grossly undervalued the American artist's critically acclaimed and ecumenical work on the monastic life. Rosebery's is publishing on its website an image of the portrait seen here to which the artist has affixed the notice "Copyright Infringement.'' Roseman holds the copyright.
Stanley Roseman drawing Brother Michael, the tailor,
in his workroom at the Trappist Abbey of  Mount Melleray,
County Waterford, Ireland, 1983.
     Praising Roseman's drawings as "impressive," the eminent daily further states: "Roseman has captured the personalities of many individual monks while often managing to depict their lifestyles as well. . . . The artist's gray, brown, dark and light tones vary as subtly and surely as the monks who live out their discipline of prayer and work and meals in common.''
- The Boston Globe
     Exemplifying the monastic precept "ora et labora," "prayer and work," the photograph on the preceding page shows Roseman drawing Trappist monks in choir at St. Sixtus Abbey, Belgium, 1981. The photograph above was taken of Roseman drawing the Trappist monk Brother Michael, the tailor, during the artist's return to monasteries in Ireland in 1983.
     The extensive international press also includes, among others, The Boston Globe, which published laudatory accounts of Roseman's work on the monastic life in a feature news article in 1979 entitled "Monks' life through art'' and a cover story in 1981 in The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine.
Stanley Roseman drawing Brother Michael, the tailor, in his workroom at Mount Melleray Abbey, County Waterford, Ireland, 1983. Photo © Ronald Davis
Ethical Responses to Notice of Copyright Infringement
* IMPORTANT NOTICE: Since the publication of this website page, Rosebery's auction house has removed from its public archives online the auction listing of 11 August 2012 that includes lot 750. Stanley Roseman has printouts from the Internet of that auction listing of 11 August 2012 with the lot 750 and the unauthorized reproduction of his drawing.
     Rosebery's auction house has listed the same Roseman drawing auctioned and sold at the same low price on two different dates with different lot numbers: 11 August 2012, lot 750; and 19 January 2013, lot 482.*
    "I would like to conclude by commending two companies that responded ethically to my request by removing from their websites the unauthorized reproduction of my drawing of the Benedictine monk Brother Adolf and the misinformation regarding the drawing.
    "My email to arcadja.it on 9 June 2013 received a cordial response from the Arcadja Staff, who kept their word, and the next day the image of my drawing and the accompanying published incorrect information were removed from their website. My email to FindArtInfo.com on 4 May 2014 also received a cordial reply from the administration, and the image of my drawing and incorrect information were removed from their website. I express my sincere gratitude to the administrations of arcadja.it and FindArtInfo.com."
    "Dr. Walter Koschatzky, Director of the Albertina, Vienna, appraised in 1978 my drawings on the monastic life for $3,000. and $4,000. A leading Swiss banking institution stated an increase in the value of the drawings in a bank statement in 1990 regarding a Custody Account for the Safekeeping of Securities. Five of my drawings on the monastic life were deposited in the Custody Account at a value of CHF 9,000. each, (approximately $6,000. each). A related drawing to the portrait of Brother Adolf (seen above) was included in the Custody Account. The name of the bank will remain confidential for the present time.
    "In purchasing the drawing, Flavia Ormond did not purchase the copyright. The copyright of the portrait drawing of Brother Adolf rests with me."
1. Notice of Copyright Infringement
2. Concerning Rosebery's Auction House
3. Concerning Bamfords Auctioneers
       and LiveAuctioneers
4. Fifty Titles from Seven Centuries
       of Western Art
5. Advice to Artists
Links on bottom of the page.
     Roseman's drawings from St. Ottilien, with other drawings from his work on the monastic life, are conserved in two renowned collections of master drawings in the Netherlands: the Prentenkabinet / Kunsthistorisch Instituut der Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden and the Teyler Museum, in Haarlem. Dr. Janno van Tatenhove, Keeper of Drawings of the Art History Institute of the University of Leiden, thoughtfully notes in correspondence to Roseman that the suite of his drawings, acquired in 1985, are the first drawings by an American artist to enter the University of Leiden Print Room.
     The English auction house Rosebery's is attempting to degrade and devalue the work of the American artist Stanley Roseman. That brings to mind the famous case of the nineteenth-century English critic John Ruskin, who attempted to discredit and devalue the work of the American artist James McNeill Whistler. The outcome was to the discredit of John Ruskin.
    "I quote here Peter Schatborn, Keeper of the Rijksprentenkabinet, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, stating in reference to drawings as autonomous works: 'A monogram or signature gives the drawing a guarantee of authenticity, making it more a work of art in its own right, on a par with paintings and etchings.'[3]
    "I reiterate: Not only has Rosebery's auction house engaged in copyright infringement of my work, attempted to devalue my work, and given incorrect information about the medium of my portrait drawing of Brother Adolf but also Rosebery's has reproduced my drawing with my signature eliminated.
     Roseman writes in his Journal:
    "Did Rosebery's publish an image of my drawing with my signature eliminated so as to refer to the portrait as a 'Study' - and in so doing, attempt to lessen the value of my work on the monastic life.
Page 3 - Concerning Bamfords Auctioneers and LiveAuctioneers
                  
Mistitling Roseman's Painting from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Page 4 - Fifty Titles from Seven Centuries of Western Art
              
    Roseman's Commentary addressed to Bamfords Auctioneers and LiveAuctioneers
Page 2 - Concerning Rosebery's Auction House
                  
Provenance of the Portrait Drawing of Brother Adolf
                        Value of Roseman's Drawings on the Monastic Life