FOUNDER OF TEFAF ART FAIR DECEASED

Rob Noortman, one of the world’s leading art dealers and a co-founder of Tefaf Maastricht, died at his home in Borgloon, Belgium on January 14th aged 60. In 1975 he was the initiator of Pictura, the forerunner of Tefaf, and he was co-founder of the latter. He played a leading role in the growth of Tefaf into a leading international art and antiques fair and was due to participate again in March.

Noortman often made headlines, particularly when at one time he had three Rembrandts in stock, two of which subsequently found buyers. Last Friday, he was rewarded for his efforts for the city of Maastricht and its region with the silver medal of honour of the city of Maastricht.

For decades, Rob Noortman counted as one of the most important dealers in Dutch and Flemish Old Master paintings and French Impressionist pictures. He opened his first gallery in Hulsberg in 1968 and six years later started a gallery in London with branches in New York and Maastricht.

Apart from being a dealer, Rob made several generous donations of paintings to the Rijksmuseum, the Mauritshuis and the National Gallery in London. He also did much for African charity, supporting the Christian Children’s Fund, which builds schools, water wells and hospitals.

With his death Tefaf Maastricht will lose a flamboyant and passionate character whose contribution to the fair and to the international art market has been of great importance.

Every March, from the 9th to the 18th, the Tefaf art fair Maastricht takes place in one of the oldest and most historic towns in the Netherlands. Maastricht is situated close to the borders of Germany and Belgium, a place where art and commerce have coexisted and prospered mightily for centuries. For over 30 years it has provided a perfect home for what has become the world’s leading fine art fair.

The Tefaf Maastricht offers an unrivalled chance to view and to buy genuine masterpieces, presented by the world’s most prestigious dealers. The paintings, from Bruegel to Bacon, and objets d'art which reflect 6,000 years of excellence in the world of applied art, put Tefaf Maastricht in a class of its own. more features

February 5, 2006