![Quai d'Orléans](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Quai_d%27Orl%C3%A9ans.JPG)
William Tudor Wilkinson (December 18, 1879 – April 22, 1969) was an American
art collector
A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...
and amateur art dealer. It was said that he gave
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
a painting in exchange for his wife's freedom from an internment camp and stored weapons and radio equipment for the French resistance during the Second World War.
Early life
William Tudor Wilkinson was born in St. Louis, Missouri on December 18, 1879.
["Clubman Stole the Fishing Reels."]
''The Cincinnati Enquirer'', 29 July 1905, p. 1. newspapers.com Retrieved 27 November 2014. He was the son of the wealthy merchant and banker
John Cabell Wilkinson of
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
(1846–1910) and Margaret D. Ewing (1852-1926). He was one of seven children of the marriage. With no need to work, he lived a life of leisure and fashion and was once described as the
Beau Brummel
George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (7 June 1778 – 30 March 1840) was an important figure in Regency England and, for many years, the arbiter of men's fashion. At one time, he was a close friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV, but ...
of
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
.
["William Tudor Wilkinson".]
''Appeal to Reason'', No. 506, 12 August 1905, p. 1. newspapers.com Retrieved 28 November 2014. Wilkinson was a member of the Mercantile Club and the Algonquin Golf Club and known as a horseman, polo player and singer.
["Young Clubman Confesses Theft".]
''The St. Louis Republican'', 29 July 1905, p. 3. newspapers.com Retrieved 28 November 2014.
In 1905, Wilkinson was convicted of stealing a number of pieces of fishing equipment over several weeks from a St. Louis store. At the time of his arrest at the store he had been planning a fishing trip to Canada and his luggage had already been sent to the railway station. The police went to the station and found four stolen fishing reels in his baggage.
[ According to the ''St. Louis Republican'', Wilkinson told the police that he would not be prosecuted because of his standing in St. Louis. Wilkinson reportedly received a brief prison sentence and a fine.][ The campaigning political newspaper '' Appeal to Reason'' contrasted the light sentence that he received for the theft with the harsh justice meted out to the poor for lesser offenses.][
]
World War I
During the First World War, Wilkinson served in the aviation corps from 1917.["Eluded U.S. Income Tax".]
''Joplin Globe'', Vol. XXIX, No. 33, 14 September 1924, p. 1.
Marriage
In 1923 in Paris, Tudor Wilkinson married the English model Dolores Dolores, Spanish for "pain; grief", most commonly refers to:
* Our Lady of Sorrows or La Virgen María de los Dolores
* Dolores (given name)
Dolores may also refer to:
Film
* ''Dolores'' (2017 film), an American documentary by Peter Bratt
* ' ...
, once described as "the loveliest showgirl in the world".[Ziegfeld, Richard and Paulette Ziegfeld. (1993) ''The Ziegfeld Touch: The Life and Times of Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.'' New York: Harry N. Abrams, p. 292. ]["Most Beautiful Woman in World Quit Stage Cold for Her Husband"]
''The Milwaukee Journal
The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...
'', 22 January 1935. p. 1. The ceremony took place in the ''mairie'' of the first arrondissement and later at the oratory of the Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
.[Farnsworth, Marjorie. (1956) ''The Ziegfeld Follies''. New York: Putnam, p. 100.] Mr and Mrs Dudley Field Malone
Dudley Field Malone (June 3, 1885 – October 5, 1955) was an American attorney, politician, liberal activist, and actor. Malone is best remembered as one of the most prominent liberal attorneys in the United States during the decade of the 1920s ...
were the witnesses.[ In 1925, the American press reported that the couple lived on the ]Île Saint-Louis
Île Saint-Louis (), in size, is one of two natural islands in the Seine river, in Paris, France (the other natural island is the Île de la Cité, where Notre-Dame de Paris is located). Île Saint-Louis is connected to the rest of Paris by ...
in a house overlooking Notre-Dame Cathedral
Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...
,["How Wild Paris Tamed Our 'Peacock Girl' ".]
''Springfield Missouri Republican'', 30 August 1925, p. 22. newspapers.com Retrieved 24 November 2014. most likely the three storey apartment at 18 Quai d'Orleans referred to in later sources.
Tax debts
In 1924, Wilkinson was charged with failing to file a U.S. tax return for five years. The U.S. Marshal had failed to file a criminal warrant against Wilkinson as he was now resident abroad. The amount that it was claimed Wilkinson owed was put at $85,841. A bank account and a farm of 350 acres near Eureka, Missouri, were attached by the U.S. government in respect of the alleged debt.[
]
World War II
Paris was occupied by the Germans during World War II. Many Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
citizens were interned
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
and Dolores (born in England and married to an American) was detained at the German internment camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
at Vittel
Vittel (; archaic ) is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France.
Mineral water is bottled and sold here by Nestlé Waters France, under the '' Vittel'' brand.
History
In 1854, after visiting the baths at nearby ...
.[ The camp was a former hotel and spa and relatively comfortable as internment camps go.]
Tudor Wilkinson, as far as is known, was not detained. After the war, the American Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...
Art Looting Investigation Unit wrote that he kept a watch on the Paris art market for Sepp Angerer, Hermann Göring's art agent, and that Dolores had been released from Vittel after Göring made a personal visit to the Wilkinsons' apartment. In 1946, Tudor Wilkinson was placed on the OSS "red flag" list of people and organisations that were involved in the art trade under the Nazis, with the caveat that police reports indicated that he was active in the resistance.[Post-War Reports: Art Looting Intelligence Unit (ALIU) Reports 1945–1946 and ALIU Red Flag Names List and Index.]
lootedart.com Retrieved 27 November 2014.
In fact, according to the memoirs of Drue Tartière, the Wilkinsons were both heavily involved in the resistance. Tartière had also been in Vittel and had managed to obtain a release on the false grounds that she was dying of cancer. She went on to help in the smuggling out of occupied territory of at least 42 Allied airmen. She wrote that a short wave radio had been concealed at 18 Quai d'Orleans so that the Resistance could communicate with London, and machine guns were hidden behind the fireplace and elsewhere in the apartment. Wilkinson's secretary, who had been a professor at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
, was active in organising sabotage by railway workers.
Even after the Americans liberated Paris, the situation in the city remained dangerous in the first few days. Isolated German units and snipers remained active. Dolores' sister Eva was shot in the stomach after standing in front of a window in the Wilkinson's apartment. On the evening of the same day, there was a German bombing raid and the apartment was hit by multiple incendiary bombs
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, th ...
that started several fires. The Wilkinsons and Drue Tartière managed to throw the bombs out of the window or smother them in sand. As they were doing so a large bomb exploded near Notre Dame and water from the Seine
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributarie ...
splashed their faces. Dolores collapsed with a "heart attack" and her husband was burned on the arms and legs when he tried to extinguish an incendiary with water. The situation outside was just as bad with whole buildings collapsing from fire while German snipers shot and killed French firefighters attending to the blazes. Tartière left Paris immediately after this attack and her account provides no later information about the Wilkinsons or whether Eva survived.
Sylvia Beach
Wilkinson also managed to secure the release from Vittel in February 1942 of Sylvia Beach
Sylvia may refer to:
People
*Sylvia (given name)
*Sylvia (singer), American country music and country pop singer and songwriter
*Sylvia Robinson, American singer, record producer, and record label executive
*Sylvia Vrethammar, Swedish singer credi ...
, the bookshop owner from whose premises James Joyce's ''Ulysses
Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature.
Ulysses may also refer to:
People
* Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name
Places in the United States
* Ulysses, Kansas
* Ulysse ...
'' was published in 1922. Wilkinson wrote to Jacques Benoist-Méchin, who had been a member of Beach's library in 1919, and was now an official of the Vichy government
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
, pleading her case. In gratitude for her release, Sylvia gave Wilkinson a first edition of ''Ulysses'' signed by Joyce. The episode is described in letters from Wilkinson to the bookseller Adrienne Monnier
Adrienne Monnier (26 April 1892 – 19 June 1955) was a French bookseller, writer, and publisher, and an influential figure in the modernist writing scene in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s.
Formative years
Monnier was born in Paris on 26 April 18 ...
held in the Carlton Lake collection at the Harry Ransom Center
The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...
, University of Texas at Austin.
Collecting
It is not clear to what extent Wilkinson's art collecting tipped over into dealing. As a man of independent means, he didn't need to work for a living. He was said to have had an excellent collection of paintings by Holbein Hans Holbein may refer to:
* Hans Holbein the Elder
Hans Holbein the Elder ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Ältere; – 1524) was a German painter.
Life
Holbein was born in free imperial city of Augsburg (Germany), and died in Issenheim, Alsa ...
but the works mentioned in published sources as belonging to him tend to be minor works. He was able to employ a highly qualified assistant to research on his behalf[ but there is no evidence that Wilkinson traded as a full time art dealer. The number of auction sales required to dispose of his collection in the 1960s up to 1971, however, indicate that it was extensive and that he had a large and valuable library. Art and books from his library were sold at auction in Paris between 1969 and 1971 in a series of sales at ]Hôtel Drouot
Hôtel Drouot is a large auction house in Paris, known for fine art, antiques, and antiquities. It consists of 16 halls hosting 70 independent auction firms, which operate under the umbrella grouping of Drouot.
The firm's main location, called D ...
. There was at least one sale of books in 1964 at the same location.[OCLC FirstSearch. 30 November 2014.]
Donations
In 1952, Tudor Wilkinson donated the papers (1887–1914) of German-born Parisian antiques dealer Raoul Heilbronner to the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
. Heilbronner's home in Paris was confiscated and sold at auction by the French government not long after the start of the First World War. Wilkinson is thought to have acquired the papers at auction in the 1920s. They represent an insight into the working methods of an antiques dealer who supplied Sir Joseph Duveen, Henry E. Huntington and William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...
.
Death
Tudor Wilkinson died at age 89 from natural causes on April 22, 1969 at his home in Croisy-sur-Eure, in the region of Haute-Normandie in France. His body was cremated and his ashes were interred at Cimetière du Père Lachaise in Paris, France.[National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; ''General Records of the Department of State''; Record Group: ''RG59-Entry 5166''; Box Number: ''78''; Box Description: ''1969 WA - Z''
Obtained from Ancestry.com. ''Reports of Deaths of American Citizens Abroad, 1835-1974'' atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
] Dolores died in 1975.["Dolores, 'Ziegfeld Follies' Star Who Gave It All Up, Dies at 83" by Peter S. Flint, '']New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', 20 November 1975, p. 44.
References
External links
William Tudor WILKINSON b. 17 Dec 1880 d. Yes, date unknown: ClanMunroUSA Gen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Tudor
1879 births
1969 deaths
American art collectors
People from St. Louis
American expatriates in France