Robert Christiaan Noortman (5 March 1946 – 14 January 2007) was a Dutch art dealer. Noortman, born in

Heemstede Heemstede () is a town and a municipality in the Western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. In 2021, it had a population of 27,545. Located just south of the city of Haarlem on the border with South Holland, it is one of the richest ...

opened his first gallery in

Hulsberg Hulsberg (; ) is a village in the southeastern Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Beekdaelen, Limburg, about 15 km east of Maastricht. History The village was first mentioned in 1147 as Huleberga, and means "hill of holly (' ...

. In 1974 he expanded to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and later also to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 1980 he moved his Hulsberg gallery to

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

to merge it with the already existing gallery there, while he closed his foreign galleries. In June 2006 he sold his last gallery for 44 million

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

s and remained in function as a director. Robert Noortman was instrumental in the founding of the Maastricht-based

The European Fine Art Fair The European Fine Art Fair known as TEFAF is an annual art, antiques, and design fair organized by '' The European Fine Art Foundation'' in the MECC in Maastricht, Netherlands. It was first held open in 1988. The fair For ten days each year, ...

and for ten years was TEFAF's director. For fun Noortman studied for and graduated as a commercial pilot and later flew through twelve European countries in one single day by daylight. This record was named in the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

. He was said to have tutored

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( ; July 24, 1897 – January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer. On July 2, 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During her li ...

herself.Amelia Earhart died in 1937. Noortman was not born until 1946. Noortman suffered from

osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of articular cartilage, joint cartilage and underlying bone. A form of arthritis, it is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the world, affect ...

and

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

, but died because of a

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on 14 January 2007 in Kuttekoven, two days after he received an award from the city of Maastricht for his positive influence on Maastricht and its area. Earlier in his life he already won the title of "Honorary

Liveryman A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are styled the "Wors ...

of the City of London" and the " Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Shortly after his death Noortman was accused of

art theft Art theft, sometimes called art napping, is the stealing of paintings, sculptures, or other forms of visual art from galleries, museums or other public and private locations. Stolen art is often resold or used by criminals as collateral to ...

, willful destruction of artworks and

insurance fraud Insurance fraud is any intentional act committed to deceive or mislead an insurance company during the application or claims process, or the wrongful denial of a legitimate claim by an insurance company. It occurs when a claimant knowingly attem ...

. The investigations by the police, private detectives, the

Art Loss Register The Art Loss Register (ALR) is the world's largest database of stolen art. A computerized international database that captures information about lost and stolen art, antiques, and collectibles, the ALR is a London-based, independent, for-profit c ...

, Sotheby's and the insurance companies involved, have not led to a verdict. The gallery, owned by Sotheby's, continued with Noortman's son William as its director, but suffered from negative publicity. After moving first to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and then to London, it closed in 2013.Schutten/Van Duyne (2015), pp. 161-162.

References

* (2015): 'An inside job? The case of Robert Noortman'. In: (ed.): ''Cultural Property Crime: An Overview and Analysis of Contemporary Perspectives and Trends'', pp. 146–164. Brill, Leiden/Boston.
online text

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noortman, Robert 1946 births 2007 deaths 20th-century Dutch businesspeople People from Heemstede Dutch art dealers Commercial aviators