It was some time in the year 1968 in Amsterdam, the capital of The Netherlands, that I entered my hangout Café Theo Ruiter on the Rozengracht Nr. 160. For me this was indeed quite a common activity, not really daily, but close to that. The café (Dutch for pub) was full of people and the walls were covered by paintings. In fact Tony Mafia's paintings. Theo Ruiter was a famous innkeeper, who died in 1965 and his pub was frequented by many artists. After his death his son Karel took over. Many artists got the opportunity to exhibit their pieces of art. On that day it obviously was Tony's turn, though I feel that he was not a regular visitor of the pub. I was instantly impressed by his work. How colorful and pure it was! In the following days I came back and again (even more often than usual!) to admire the beautiful paintings and finally I decided to buy one. My budget was very limited indeed, so I could not afford one of the larger paintings.
But in fact my favorite was a smaller painting named Ted's August, it was placed just over the stairs leading to the upper part of the pub. When I told Karel about my interest he replied that Tony Mafia would be very happy, since he was in urgent need of money. So I paid the price of 200 Dutch Guilders (probably equalling about US$ 60) and Tony and I were happy about the deal.
But in fact my favorite was a smaller painting named Ted's August, it was placed just over the stairs leading to the upper part of the pub. When I told Karel about my interest he replied that Tony Mafia would be very happy, since he was in urgent need of money. So I paid the price of 200 Dutch Guilders (probably equalling about US$ 60) and Tony and I were happy about the deal.And I still am. Ted's August has been a companion for almost 40 years now. I still love the colors, the mood, the atmosphere. The mother, the child and the cat have become good friends, or even members of the family. Can you imagine?
About the photos:
I photographed Café Theo Ruiter in 1968 or 1969.
Ted's August as it hangs in my living room. Click on it for a larger view!
3 comments:
My Tony Mafia tale is, I believe, unique.
I am comfortably retired, no Bill Gates, but I do have a private plane, a modest yacht, a beach home in Newport Beach, a chalet in Aspen, and I owe it all to Tony.
Back in the late '50's, I fell in love with TM paintings, but could not afford them. So I accumulated hundreds, then thousands of them in this manner.
Wherever Tony lived, I hired the homeless (which we then called bums) to stroll by Tony's home/garret/studio and admire his work. I taught them to say things like 'Wow, the eyes have it', 'Gee, crisp, evocative use of color', 'Hey, she reminds me of my (mother, sister, daughter)', 'Very much a Romanesque influence'.
Inevitably, Tony would give them his latest work, insisting they carry it with them. I gave them a half-pint of Muscatel as I sent them on their quest, and another half-pint when they returned with the painting. (Pints of Muscatel cost $.69 US at the time).
Today, whenever I need to fill up my Lear with AvGas, or replace my Lamborghini's tires, I sell a Mafia.
At one a month, I can support myself until 2037, at which time I will be 103 years old.
I have statue of Tony Mafia in a front niche at my Villa, to which I give daily thanks.
Thank you Gijs for your contribution. I obviously cannot do it all on my own. This would have been unknown to those interested in Tony and his work.
@anonymous
If you own so many paintings, couldn´t you upload at least some of them to this blog?
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