For Canadian Art: A passion for Modern Art.

A collector who became an art merchant, Robert Landau is a passionate esthete with a competitive approach to commerce. Hard work and steely ambition earned him early success in careers in real estate and the fur business. Although Landau still has real estate holdings, he mainly focuses now on art deals.

 

Founded in 1987, Landau Fine Arts specializes in French and international masters of the first half of the twentieth century. At any moment, iconic masterworks are on show at the gallery. When I visited the airy and pleasant premises overlooking Sherbrooke Street in Montreal, no less than ten Picassos -mostly from the later period – were on show, and paintings by Dubuffet, Modigliani, Rouault, Jawlensky, Gris, Kandinsky, Hoffmann… Large charcoal compositions by Matisse and a drawing by Giacometti were displayed. Landau also admits to a personal preference for Kandinsky and Chagall’s early Russian vision.

I appreciated the crisp machismo of Picasso’s various periods among works displayed, and took note of the civilized, delicate femininity of a late nineteenth century portrait by Louis Anquetin.

Many gallery works are in storage, lent or sent to art fairs. Landau prefers dealing in paintings and drawings, while prints and engravings are absent from the inventory.

“We buy what is known to be best in the world and cater to the circle of international collectors”, says Landau. Discretion seems of paramount importance. He emphasizes: “We value clients more than our paintings. This is related to the quality of art we represent. People trust our judgment.” He sells works to major museums and collectors. According to Natalie Bondil, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts director, who collaborated with Landau, his is “the most important modern art gallery in Montreal, and probably in Canada.”

With rare media coverage in Canada, the gallery gets enthusiastic reviews abroad, as in the New York Times or the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, among others. According to Landau, his gallery belongs to the world’s top ten for modern art, alongside Gagossian’s and Acquavella of New York. Landau does not take works on consignment, he buys: “We make a commitment to customers”.

The gallery occupies central stands at the great art fairs: TEFAF Maastricht, Art Basel, Art Basel Miami Beach, Art Chicago. In 2012, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands visited the Maastricht stand, which received one hundred thousand visitors in one week. An assiduous traveller, Landau has homes in Montreal and Lucerne.