ITALIAN, POSSIBLY PERUGIA, LATE 15TH CENTURY

Harold and Gloria Hecht possessed one of the great art collections in America in the mid-1950's. At one time their collection included works by Van Gogh (L'Arlesienne), Chagall, Modigliani, Dufy, Delacroix, John Singer Sargent (Portrait of Eleanora Duse), Miro, Klee, Jawlensky, Picasso, Rouault, Renoir and an extensive statuary collection of Pre-Columbian figures. They acquired St. Michael Weighing Souls soon after he won the Oscar for 'Marty,' Best Picture of 1955.

The producing team of Harold Hecht and Burt Lancaster produced some of the most successful and critically acclaimed movies of all time including 'Marty' (Best Picture Oscar), 'Sweet Smell of Success,' 'Birdman of Alcatraz,' 'Separate Tables' (Best Actor Oscar, David Niven) as well as genre favorites 'Vera Cruz,' 'Trapeze,' and 'The Crimson Pirate' and later, as a solo producer, "Cat Ballou" (Best Actor Oscar, Lee Marvin).