Strauss & co - 15 October 2018, Cape Town

200 Miss Ida Robinson married Signor Natale Teodato Labia, a member of the Italian diplomatic service, on 21 September 1921 in London. The couple were both in their forties and no one could have foreseen the considerable influence that they would have on the cultural life of Cape Town, where they settled later on that year. Labia advanced rapidly in his career and was created a hereditary Count in 1924. By his industry the economic and political links between Italy and South Africa were greatly improved, and chairs in Italian were established at the University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University andWitwatersrand University. (In addition Italian schools were started in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.) After Count Labia’s untimely death, aged 59, in 1936, King Victor Emmanuel of Italy awarded him the hereditary title Prince. The widowed Princess Labia was a daughter – the favourite daughter – of the South African Randlord Sir Joseph Benjamin Robinson (1840-1929). From him she had acquired her celebrated art collection. When, in 1959, she allowed these much-admired artworks to be displayed in the South African National Gallery in Cape Town, it was hoped – by the Government and indeed Mr. John Paris, Director of the National Gallery – that the Princess would donate the collection to the nation. Such a gesture would have gone a long way to negate the unpopularity that had always dogged her father, Sir “JB”. The donation did not take place. In 1961 Princess Labia died and her two sons, Joseph and Natale (known as Luccio), inherited the treasured art collection. It is said that this inheritance was portioned as follows: by mutual agreement Joseph, the elder brother, was given the first choice, Luccio the second, Joseph the third… and so on, until the entire collection of some 108 paintings had been allocated. Joseph – who was now a Prince, although he preferred not to use this title – took up residence in Jersey. Count Luccio remained in Cape Town, his birthplace. In subsequent years the brothers disposed of many of their grandfather’s artworks. From his father Luccio had inherited a pride in, and love for, all things Italian. These included opera and art and the Italian language itself. He had a legacy from his grandfather J B Robinson too: not just a cache of precious paintings but a flair for, and appreciation of, fine art. Gradually he assembled a collection of artworks of his own. But while Robinson had depended largely on the advice of two connoisseurs, Charles Davis and Sir George Donaldson (who owned a gallery in New Bond Street in London), Luccio was his own man. He was both discerning and, when he lighted on a painting he wanted, gently determined, the auction-house paddle he held went up repeatedly in the air until the lot was awarded to him. Occasionally this was to the consternation of his loving wife Sylvia, for wall space at their house Hawthornden was at a premium. Although a reserved man, Luccio had his passions, and art was merely one of them. He loved cars, whether vintage or new, sedate or swift. When already in his late eighties he acquired a new navy blue Maserati – although despite this defiant (and costly) gesture in the face of old age he took it on the road only a handful of times. He was also an accomplished academic, having lectured in Economics at the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Cape Town. He was both admired and loved by his friends. Count Luccio Labia died in November 2016, and now his heirs have released 22 of his paintings from the Labia Family Trust to be sold at auction. Half of them are European in origin, the other half are South African. The Labia surname is familiar to Capetonians for a number of reasons. A wooden screen, separating the sacristy (vestry) from the nave in St Mary’s Roman Catholic cathedral at the bottom of Roeland Street, was donated by the Labia family in 1929. The Labia name is borne by a well-known Cape Town cinema complex. From the 1930s its imposing neighbour – now called Seafare House – was the Italian embassy and when, after the Second World War, the embassy ballroom was converted into a theatre it was Princess Ida Labia who, on 16 May 1949, officially opened it. The building is now the property of the Provincial government yet the Labia origins of this popular entertainment centre are evident – not only in its name but also in the large mural in the foyer depicting the Venetian Palazzo Labia (which was once owned by the family). Some years ago the late Count Luccio made available to the public The Fort – rechristened the Casa Labia – in Muizenberg, as a privately managed centre for cultural activities. The building, erected in 1928-29, was originally both the Labia family home and, for a short period, the Italian legation, the Canadian and Argentinian embassies. It stands on the site of a defensive fortification dating from the Battle of Muizenberg (1795). Today, among other things, it is a showcase for some of the finest paintings from the original J B Robinson art collection. Casa Labia stands also as a fine memorial to Count Luccio Labia himself, for he was a generous benefactor, and a portrait of him hangs in the first room that one enters there. Jeremy Lawrence South African, British and European Paintings from The Labia Family Trust