IN tribute André Blandin André Schoeller Ah, what a story Dédé’s is! These few words can only begin to tell about a singular man, André Schoeller, who was one of my closest friends and whose life was a romantic performance. My fi rst memories of André (Dédé to those close to him) go back to his gallery on Rue Miromesnil in Paris, where I saw Kota reliquaries shining between canvases. He was among the fi rst to show the work of Atlan, Castillo, Fautrier, Gioli, Messagier, Rebeyrolle, and Tal-Coat. He liked to confront both men and ideas, so it is not surprising that he was among the fi rst to show tribal masks alongside modern paintings, and later with Monet and Sam Francis at Galerie Larock-Granoff. His competence, which was more instinctive than theoretical, quickly earned him widespread esteem and recognition. He had a rare combination of eye, taste, and talent. He was recognized as a specialist on the work of de La Fresnaye, Lanskoy, and Picasso, and he was the consulting expert for many major auctions, both of paintings (Renan, Carré, Maar) and, along with Charles Ratton and Guy Loudmer, tribal art (the Breton, Rasmussen, and Tzara sales). He lived his glory years in Paris to the fullest. Painters, sculptors, comedians, and comediennes all fell for this larger-than-life and quixotic man’s roguish charm, his social ease, his wit, and his wry humor. He was seductive, a master of repartee, and he loved stars, 158 he spent a number of years managing the fi nances of the company that relocated people, mostly Baule, displaced by the creation of the Kossou Dam. That made him some enemies. His outspokenness, his frankness, and his unwillingness to compromise made him an exceptional person, a faithful friend, and an interesting conversationalist. Over time, his collecting and his research became focused on West African bronzes. He made several trips to Burkina Faso and Mali. Upon his return to France in 1980, he published a reference book, Bronzes et autres alliages (Bronzes and Other Alloys). Then came 400 objets africains pour la vie quotidienne (400 African Objects of Daily Life) and Fer noir de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (Black Iron of West Africa). His wife, Gabrielle, was his faithful companion until the end. Rest in peace, my friend, in the lush landscaped cemetery of Aix-en-Provence, the beautiful and magical place your discernment and taste led you to. Alain Dufour and they loved him. Was he not one of them? He missed nothing during this time and had no regrets. He befriended Edith Piaf, Jean Cocteau, Charles Aznavour, Pierre Brasseur, and beautiful American women like Ava Gardner and Maria Félix, as well as any number of energetic wild characters whose personalities had been forged in the furnace that was the last century. Temptresses and vampires, beautiful children and handsome bandits all danced in his imagination to the rhythm of his fantasies. He associated with top dealers and collectors such as Charles Ratton and René Rasmussen; made lasting friendships with Pierre Larock, Merton Simpson, Jean-Marie Andriveau, Claude Bernard, Viviane Jutheau DeWitt, Denyse and Philippe Durand-Ruel, and Arman; and had many other often-tumultuous relationships with people such as Hubert Goldet, Alain de Monbrison, and me. As a young man, he was persistent, always a sharp dresser, and he loved big fancy cars. He was insolent and had a penchant for invective and altercations. He was a superb dilettante, sometimes defenseless yet always well-equipped, and he never slowed his pace. His offi ce was near the Hôtel Drouot. In the merciless jungle of that establishment, he was like a lion, a man that destiny had graced with the heart and the temperament of a wild animal. He roared often and reigned as an exquisite predator of objects and muses, immersed in this world where, as a poet once said, “Smiles have the He left us on a fi ne September day while in his native Provence. From 1957 to 1980, André Blandin was a passionate fi gure in the African art market in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. I fi rst met him there in 1965 in a gallery in the city’s Plateau neighborhood, not far from a restaurant called Le Bardon that was the epicenter of the Ivorian art market. He was curious and open to all forms of art, relentlessly collecting works from diverse cultures such as Baule, Dan, Guere, Senufo, and Agni. He always had an eye for beauty and authenticity. Blandin was a man of integrity, and
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