IN tribute James Caswell Peter Loebarth At this year’s Parcours des Mondes, Stella Loebarth informed us of the death of Peter Loebarth on July 25 at the age of seventyfour, after a long illness. Born in Memel, Lithuania, in 1941, Peter had three brothers. His family fled to the West in 1945 and settled in Hameln, Germany. 144 Peter grew up, studied there, and later learned composition. He wanted to see the world and left for Ethiopia, sponsored by a grant from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. He had a gift for languages and quickly learned French and English. In Addis Ababa, he met Stella, whom he married in 1970. They had two daughters. In the years that followed, he traveled a great deal professionally throughout Europe and also in Africa, notably in Botswana, Togo, Egypt, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which he visited on several occasions. From his first stay there, he became actively interested in African art. Peter developed a great sensibility for old and high-quality objects, and the great number of works he collected aroused the interest of many Western dealers. A large number of pieces he collected are today in important collections, including those of Baselitz and Muhlack, to name just a Late in his career, he also developed a serious interest in antique medical models. In many ways, Historia was a reflection of Jim’s own colorful personality—rich, vibrant and, most definitely, unique. Jim’s absolute dedication to Spanish colonial and Mexican folk art was a labor of love to which he devoted himself wholeheartedly. Jim was a true scholar, and for me a mentor—someone I could turn to after I had exhausted every other viable resource. I knew he would always have the answer, and, unlike many others, he was happy to share it with me. I think of him often and miss him dearly. Jim will never be forgotten. His spirit will live on in all that he achieved and shared with so many. James Eddy few. They regularly come up for sale at major auctions as well. In addition to works from Tanzania and the Congo, he also collected many Lobi artworks. We were fortunate enough to acquire some of these for our own collection and remain very happy to have them. From 1987 until 1991, Peter ran the Balolu Gallery in Amsterdam in partnership with Gerbrand Luttik. The adventure was My heart nearly burst with sorrow when I heard that my dear friend James Caswell passed away on June 10, 2015. Jim was a lot of things to a lot of different people, but a friend to all. Those who knew Jim probably share many of my sentiments and my feelings about who he was and what he represented. First and foremost, he was a special person with an enormous heart. He was a family man, who dedicated all of his adult life to family, and a provider who worked diligently to provide for them. He was passionate about many things. After family, his other true love was his business, Historia Antiques, a completely unique Santa Monica emporium brimming with rare, idiosyncratic, one-of-a-kind treasures, mostly from Mexico and the Americas. This itself was something of a family endeavor, since for many years he worked there with his daughter, Sidsie.
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