Fine Art magazine presents "The Book of Neil"

NEIL ZUKERMAN TRIBUTE EDITION

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“A bright light who will continue to shine.”

— Hillary Meisner

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In Memory of Neil Zukerman (1939-2021)

Neil Zukerman is survived by many artists, friends and his loving husband Tom Shivers.

A wonderfully bright light left this earthly plane on August 12, 2021. His name was Neil Zukerman. He brought joy and enjoyment to all who met him; he nurtured and supported artists, friends and even acquaintances. He cared. He was insatiably curious. He was impeccably honest and honorable.

He really was the nice one. Even upon first meeting, people were able to feel his sincerity. Without him our fantastic life would never have been. But he could be strong willed, opinionated, bossy and overbearing; some of his quixotic gestures drove me crazy— this, only I really knew about. Well, no one’s perfect.

His greatest contribution to the world was the number of people whose lives he touched, who loved him, who were nurtured and supported by him. His star will shine for the millennia in the hearts of many, many people around the world but most of all in my heart. I loved, honored, respected and laughed with him for just short of 53 years. Here is good-bye to the too-short run of the Tom & Neil Show.

— Tom Shivers

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I stopped to drop off some Summer G&S issues with Neil Zukerman, who owned CFM Gallery. When I called his number, his husband Tom Shivers answered, saying Neil had recently passed away but that I could come by their loft, and he would give me what he had written about Neil.

Although this was to be a very sad visit, as the elevator advanced up, I recalled wonderful memories of what fun it was when Ed and I visited Neil and Tom at gatherings in their loft after the gallery openings. They were both such gracious hosts, making everyone feel special. Their spacious loft was literally filled ceiling to floor with surrealist and symbolist art and objects that they had collected over the years from their travels. It was so packed with special treasures—angels, animals, small figures and drawings, books and other unique objects— that each time you looked around, you would see something new! There was even a movie theatre with stuffed animals sitting in the audience awaiting the next movie. I also remember a small alcove that was the “Marilyn Monroe room,” floor to ceiling, only Marilyn Monroe. It was a very festive and magical atmosphere, like entering another time and place. If there were an adult Alice in Wonderland, it would be Neil and Tom’s apartment.

I sat with Tom in his office in the front of the loft; we talked about how special Neil was as a curator. He showed mainly Surrealist and Symbolist artists such as Salvador Dali, Leonor Fini, as well as living artists such as Ailene Fields, Anne Bachelier and Michael Parkes. He also published books, illustrated by his gallery artists. He was recently known for his co-authorship and publication of the Catalogue Raisonne of the paintings by Leonor Fini.

Neil’s CFM Gallery on Green Street had also exuded an air of otherworldliness, very much due to Neil’s presence. The space he created for his artists was inviting, artful and ethereal. He brought a special dimension to his artists’ work because of his beliefs and enthusiasm. He was not only a curator but an artist in his own right. He reigned over his beautiful art, jewelry and objects like a proud king.

Ed and I really enjoyed going to visit him in SoHo. It was always a high point in our early Gallery&Studio days. This was before everything was done digitally. We would sit in Neil’s office while he told us about his artist while we took notes. Neil spoke about his artists with pride and esteem. Like his loft, his office was a place filled with special objects, books and Neil atmosphere. Ed and I thought of it as a “cabinet of wonders.”

— Jeannie McCormack

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“Exquisite taste in the type of art that he collects and extolls, as well as the willingness to fight for it, has made Neil Zukerman a formidable foe of a myopic cultural establishment bent on ignoring figurative painting and sculpture that is passionate rather than ironic… Neil Zukerman has always maintained that he would never sell a work of art that he himself would not wish to own.”

— Ed McCormack

7 All you have to really know about my dear friend, colleague, client and collaborator is this: Today is September 11, 2002,

exactly 22 years to the day of the heinous act that took down the World Trade Center, a few short city blocks from CFM Gallery.

At that exact moment, the SunStorm/Fine Art press was rolling and we were about half way through this humongous printing job.

Hundreds of plates, some 500 color separations, tens of thousands of sheets of paper coming and going skidded up on our press room floor. Melvin McNeal was running the press, I was assisting and making sure Anne Bachelier’s colors popped off the pages. Once we realized what was happening, Melvin was in a panic as his daughter worked in that neighborhood. Additioally, Neil had a major Dali show scheduled for Sept 14. Fortunately those catalogs were printed and delivered. Mel and I really had no other choice but to continue printing to meet our deadline to deliver Neil’s over-sized 256 page love letter to Anne Bachelier for the opening one month away. And the bindery could not bind without all the pages. I called Neil to suggest that he might want to put off the exhibition and book signing and as I stated above, this is all you really have to know about Neil: “If we stop our lives, they win.” — Victor Forbes NEIL ZUKERMAN STORY • 5

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And so it begins…

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Exquisite technique coupled with artistic vision defines our user-friendly presentation of figurative fine art paintings, sculptures and original graphics. Contemporary symbolism at its apex in the traditions of Bosch, the Italian Renaissance, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, the Viennese and German Secession and the symbolist movements with an edge of surrealism. k Neil, it’s a thin line. But seriously, you have every reason to be proud of CFM’s history. That first year you were open you had, each month, the best shows in NYC! — Philip Allen 8 • NEIL ZUKERMAN STORY

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CFM Gallery presents a unique and outstanding selection of art from all over the world. Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Original Graphics, Jewelry, Antiques and Collectibles in the traditions of Hieronymus Bosch, the Italian Renaissance, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, The Symbolist and the Munich and Viennese Secessionist movements including a large selection of Fine Jewelry, Objets de Virtu, Factice and Glass.

The criterion is to present only those artists and work that possesses fine technical virtuosity coupled with an originality of vision that speaks simultaneously to the emotional, intellectual and creative core of our clients.

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At CFM, “Love + Sharing = Success”

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By PAUL J. MARK

pening at a time when many others have been going out of business, CFM Gallery seems perfect for the mood of the current art market. Their literature says that CFM offers “ ... a subjective selection of paint­ings, drawings, etchings, original graph­ics and sculptures by artists who blend their unique visions with technical vir­tuosity.” In fact, the gallery reflects the taste of on·e man. A taste which many collectors appear to embrace wholeheart­edly.

Neil Zukerman, the owner and driv­ing force behind CFM, began collecting art in the early sixties. His first purchases were prints and posters of whatever he liked. Perhaps the strongest influence on his future direction in art was the discov­ery of Salvador Dali and Hironymous Bosch. As a teenager he had shown an affinity for the work of Bosch without knowing who he was or that Bosch was actually the first surrealist. For an eighth grade poetry project, he juxtaposed a poem with an illustration he found in a magazine. It wasn’t until many years later that he learned that it was a detail from Hell, the right panel of Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights.

Sensitized by his father’s eclectic library, he was raised on the highly imagi­native illustrations of Gustav Dore, Aubrey Beardsley, Gustav Klimt, Harry Clarke and other technical masters of drawing and line. His continuing love for figurative and representational art is a natural extension of those influences.

The ability to draw underlies all of the art that CFM presents.

“There must not only be sure, deft draftsmanship, but also a vision of worlds and ideas that transport the viewer,” Zukerman states.

Leonor Fini, the catalyst for Neil Zukerman to become an art dealer, rep­resents the best example of the technical skill that he looks for in the art he selects. Fini is Zukerman’s passion and the cor­nerstone of his involvement with art. He has the world’s largest collection of her work. As the author of the first com­ plete-and accurate-bibliography of Fini, he is often called upon

by Christies, both in London and New York, for authentications and is considered the leading expert in the United Stated on Fini.

As an alternative to cutting edge and abstract art, as well as designer graph­ics, CFM’s presentation of surreal, sym­bolist and renaissance-inspired art has achieved immediate success. The gallery offers both a respite from the cold and unemotional style favored by many Soho galleries, and an atmosphere where the visitor feels genuine warmth and wel­come from the staff.

Zukerman is also waging a running battle with most art magazines and art critics in general. His contention is that most people are held in contempt by the critics and this contempt is reflected in the editorial posture of many periodi­cals. “There seems to be a need for critics to be intimidating by convincing their readers that if they can understand (in other words, like) a piece of art, it can not be important or good. Only the critics, in their view, may imbue an artist with importance. The only thing that this seems to accomplish is to protect the critic’s job!” He goes on to say, “It angers me that a whole world of art has been ignored for the last forty years because a few critics and galleries have convinced everyone else that the emperor’s new clothes may only be seen be the pure at heart-them!”

He fleetingly considered calling his gallery The Emperor’s Real Clothes. “Whenever someone says to me, ‘I know nothing about art,’ I ask them if they know what they like. The answer is 12 • NEIL ZUKERMAN STORY

invariably ‘yes’ and I then tell them they know everything they need to know to select art for themselves.”

At the CFM Gallery selling is sec­ondary. “Although it is economically impossible to exist without sales,” says Zukerman, “selling is not the answer. People can not be sold art. They select it; or as more often happens, a piece of art selects them. All of the sales techniques in the world will not sell a work of art.

One may sell investment or status, but not art.” “This concept was initially difficult for the staff to grasp. However, as the art was, seemingly, effortlessly matched to clients, the staff began to understand this theory. Most people need or want validation of their own taste. Finding something they per­sonally respond to and love in a gallery that consists of high quality work allows them to achieve that goal.”

The gallery officially opened this September with an exhibition of the work of Michael Parkes. A sensual blending of mythologies and dreams exemplifies Parkes’ work which made it a per­fect beginning for CFM. It was the first time that Parkes’ oils have been made available through a gallery in the United States.

The combination of the oils with an exhibition of the complete collection of his origi­nal stone lithographs, found immediate favor, insuring the success of the show.

The gallery artists are divided about equally— and quite unintentionally — be­tween Americans and Euro­peans, both women and men, known and unknown. Each has been selected solely because their work ‘sings’ to Neil Zukerman.

Haunting international and American art fairs and galleries, Zukerman finds those few artists that meet his stringent requirements. When he does, he pursues the art and the artist with an almost religious fervor. A Massimo Rao painting that harked back to the imagery of the Italian masters at the Basel art fair a few years ago, was bought from thirty feet away. With the opening of CFM as a public gallery in Soho, Rao’s agent was con­vinced that it was the right gallery to introduce Rao to the United States. In De­cember of this year another dream will come true for Neil Zukerman when he will present the first Massimo Rao gallery exhibition outside of Europe.

Continually amazed when artists are taken aback by his genuine desire to view their work, Zukerman was ap­palled to discover that it is the exception, rather than the rule, for a gallery to even glance at an aspiring artist. When an artist comes into the gallery and asks if he views work, the answer is always the same: “I’d be a fool if I didn’t.”

The discovery of Yarek Godfrey.ow (pro­nounced Godfreeoh-veh), who will be solely represented by CFM in the United Stated, occurred in just this way. An exhi­bition is planned for Godfrey.ow in March of 1993, after which shows will be sched­ uled in galleries in Atlanta and Sante Fe. The visitor to CFM is greeted on his arrival and treated as a guest would be in a private home. Often surprised at actu­ally being made to feel welcome, the casual sightseer, the serious student and the avid collector often respond with enthusiasm and appreciation and a bond is formed between the visitor and the staff of the gallery. What this seems to prove, once again (at least to Neil Zukerman’s satisfaction) is that art is an experience of love-not economics. When love is the motive, and sharing an experience of art is the means, success is the natural result.

From SunStorm Fine Art Magazine, November 1992

Ailene, Neil, Tom, Anne

“The phenomenally talented Anne Bachelier is francaise de bout en bout, born in Louvigne-du-Desert and now living near Grenoble, but her publisher, CFM Gallery, is in New York, hence her inclusion here. [in the American section of the book] This exquisitely designed edition, which came out in 2005, contains a very tall, svelte “Wonderland”; flip it over, turn it upside down, and it’s “Looking-Glass.” Masterfully rendered in water-colour, gouache, and pen and ink, her darkly beautiful, mystic surreal imaginings place the viewer in an enchanted realm.” by Mark Burstein, Pres of the American Lewis Caroll Society The above paragraph is from “Illustrating Alice: an international selection of illustrated editions of Lewis Carroll’s A ‘ lices Adventures in Wonderland’ and ‘Through the Looking Glass’”Published by Artists’ Choice Editions limited standard edition , 2013.

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…with Leonor, of course.

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n May of 1992 a small Fini painting of a Sphinx that I loved was going to auction. I put my resources together and managed to gather an amount that I thought sufficient to buy the painting. On the telephone with the auction house in London, my heart fell as the bidding exceeded my limit. I was devastated! Fate and fortune conspiring again, I was offered a long term lease on the space I had rented to present The Artist As Designer exhibition.

The funds that I had put together for the painting allowed me to take the space and open CFM Gallery on July 1, 1992. Again, Leonor and one of her Sphinxes totally changed the direction of my life. Regrets? None!

—NZ

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CFM is Proud to Present

CFM Gallery as Proud to Present

The Artist As Designer

An Exhibiition of Ballet, Theater, Film and Commercial Designs

February 13 thru Match 8, 1992 Poster for “Leonor Fini - The Artist as Designer” which opened our gallery in SoHo in 1992. The illustration is a costume design for the first ballet of Roland Petit’s Ballet de Paris (Leonor found the backer for the company), “Les Demoiselles de la Nuit”. it starred Margot Fontyne NEIL ZUKERMAN STORY • 19

Out of the past. Leonor Fini costumes for the Paris Opera’s 1963 production of Richard Wagner’s “Tannhäuser” as modeled at the CFM Gallery exhibition, “Leonor Fini - the Artist as Designer” in 1992.

From the Archives.

Photos from the first CFM Galler y exhibition for Leonor Fini (The Artist as Designer), February 1992.

Joy Williams Brown with Neil Zukerman and Tom Shivers in front of Fini’s portrait of Joy and Margot Fonteyn (1948

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REMEMBERING LEONOR ln looking back almost 50 years, memories are surprisingly clear, but it's the essence of the era that resonates most of all. The feel of the summer of 1948, when I first knew Leonor, is palpable still: cozy, simpatico, and a touch surreal.

I had come to Paris in April of 1948 during a break with The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in New York, and Roland Petit invited me to join his newly fom1ed Les Ballets de Paris for its premier season.

It was a remarkable time. Paris was bursting with postwar energy. Our opening engagement, in June of 1948 at the Theatre Marigny, was the sensation of the season. Le tout Paris turned out for us. And with good reason. Among other new works, Roland created a beautiful Ballet, Les Demoiselles de la Nuit, for guest artist Margot Fonteyn in her first major foray away from the gentler confines of English ballet.

The exquisite sets and costumes were by Leonor Fini. My very first night in Paris, I had gone to the ballet at the Palais Gamier to see Balanchine's Le Palais de Crystal (later known as Symphony in C at the New York City Ballet), and its ravishing costumes were also by Leonor.

That whole six-week season was sheer Parisian glamour, particularly for a 20-year-old American dancer, newly come to Paris and unexpectedly set down in its heady atmosphere, so in July, when Margot asked me to join her with Leonor and Leonor's friend, Sforzino Sforza, on a holiday in the south of France, I was delighted to accept. Margot and I had become good friends, and it all sounded perfect. I had seen Leonor only fleetingly during spring rehearsals and didn't really know her. Now, in retrospect, that month of August in Le Bruse seems almost unreal.

Leonor had taken a small villa overlooking the sea and set up an airy, light-filled studio for herself and Sforzino, who was an amateur sculp­ tor. Life there quickly fell into a lovely, hazy routine. Leonor and Sforzino worked in the mornings while Margot and I slept late and read (Rosamond Lehmann 's Dusty Answer as I recall) and lazed about. Then we packed picnic lunches and climbed down the steep path to the rocky shore below and swam and explored. We visited the tiny fishing vil­ lage of Le Bruse, where I found the deep Proveni;:al accent virtually impenetrable.

Soon Leonor decided that she wanted to paint a double portrait of Margot and me. So we joined the morning activities in the studio. There was much experimentation of how and where we would sit or stand and a good deal of discussion about what we would wear. Many various head pieces were tried out, as well as an unusual array of garments and draperies of one sort or another - where they came from I can't imag­ ine. They were unlikely to have been found in the rented villa.

Margot Fo11tey11 et S011 Ami (Her Friend) Oil on Canvas 1948

At the end of the month Margot and I left Le Bruse with our facial portraits completed and our figures more or less in place, with Margot standing and me seated. But we had no idea what the finished picture would look like. It was something of a surprise when we finally saw a photograph of it. The picture was exhibited later that fall in Brussels and was bought by Anna Magnani.

It is hard to describe the aura of that summer. All through this time, our little group of four felt absolute contentment.

It was as though a film of gossamer protected us from any outside intrusion. Roland came down for a few days, which was fun, but we all agreed afterwards that we really prefe1Ted a little less energy around.

And they took such good care of me' One day I had an ear infection, and all three of them bustled me into Toulon to see the doctor. I can't think of another time when I've felt so cherished or valued. Then, in time, Margot went back to London to start rehearsals at Covent Garden, and I returned to Paris to prepare for the fall tour with Roland's company.

Thinking now about that period, the word that comes to mind is "innocence," not only my own, but as reference to the simplicity and depth of the feelings we had for one another: affection, unconditional acceptance, and absolute loyalty.

Leonor and Sforzino wrote me several times that fall -- long, newsy letters, as though they, too, didn't quite want to let go of the summer idyll. And I saw them from time to time over the years that I remained in Europe.

Eventually I returned to New York, married, and had children. Leonor and I exchanged Christmas cards, but the decades passed, and we lost touch until five years ago, when Neil Zukerman brought us together again. I wrote her a letter, and the reply brought me to tears. It was as though the years had disappeared, and I was still the young girl she had known. Her loving words held the same affection and caring as they had long ago.

Maybe, after all, the idyll was real.

Joy Williams Brown, 1997, NYC 35

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Escape To Carnivale

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Sophie Eustache

Dear Victor, I have so many pictures with my love Neil of the past 20 years.

Here is a selection of my favorites. He also took so many wonderful pictures of me over the years and I did too of him.

I looked into our correspondence and found some great ones.

In any how my two favorites remain the last one I sent you with my King and the first one with my darling Neil laughing all we could — as we always did when we were together. And lo sgropino — one is quite a memory, that was a picture for Anne not being with us having our favorite Venitian sip!!!!

Big hugs to You and thank you for keeping Neil’s with us, it is so painful but very important.

He is so missed. Sometimes I look at my phone thinking I may get a “checking” on me as he used to tell me of my favorite man in New York. So now when I look at roses and flowers and photograph — Them specially the ones of my father in our property in Normandy where I was born — I know he is checking on me.

Hope you are well, dear friend. Let me know how is your project evolving and all my very best, Sophie My reply:Thank you dear Sophie. I know how much you two cherished each other.

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