TheBurg

38 | THEBURGNEWS.COM | 01.22 I n late September, Harrisburg-based Cordier Auctions & Appraisals held an online art auction featuring 280 paintings and sculptures. Up for bid was the collection of the late Raymonde "Ré" Désabres Plaut, a French artist who lived in Harrisburg before passing away in 2020. It was an impressive grouping of her work, as well as pieces she owned by other artists. Scrolling through the online page, I was overwhelmed by the amount of artwork. It was so much that Melanie Hartman, Cordier's director of catalog and specialty auctions, thought it might dilute the market and depress the prices. But within the four-hour auction, all but 12 of the 280 pieces had sold, raising $16,000. e highest bid was $750. Hartman was surprised, in a good way. Keeping with Ré's will, the money was split between the Art Association of Harrisburg and the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area—two organizations that she was passionate about. "She would've been shocked to see how much it raised," Ré's granddaughter Dazzia Szczepaniak said. "She would've been proud." After talking to Ré's friends and family, I saw clearly why the auction was so successful—Ré was a force. She was known for her in-home art gallery, her glamorous parties, her creativity, love and eccentricity. She was electric, and her spark wouldn't dim in Harrisburg with her passing. I wish I had met Ré before she passed, had the chance REMEMBERING RÉ Local artist left her mark on Harrisburg through creativity, generosity and passion | BY MADDIE GITTENS CULTURE to stroll through her gallery and hear some of the many stories she had to tell—like how, as a teenager, she was a member of the French Resistance and worked to identify and stop Nazi troops. Instead, I gathered stories from those who knew her. Like Ré and her paintings, they were quite the collection. ABSOLUTE DYNAMITE Kathy Dunbar met Ré around 30 years ago at the former Dōshi art gallery in Harrisburg, and the pair immediately connected. Ré was a French immigrant, and Dunbar was from London. And while Dunbar isn't an artist like Ré, she is an art lover, so the two began frequently attending art shows together. Dunbar would even help Ré with her exhibitions. ey had a lot in common. "We gravitated towards each other," Dunbar said. "We were cohorts of sorts." Ré and her husband Martin Plaut would share meals with Dunbar and her husband Glen weekly. ey'd travel to nearby cities like Philadelphia and New York together. Dunbar even spent time with Ré's family members. Ré had two sons from a previous marriage—Richard and Robin. Ricky suffers from schizophrenia, but he and Dunbar "jelled," she said. Over time, Ré and Dunbar became family. Ré was known for the parties that she and Martin threw. She loved to dance and loved a good martini—or two. Ré and Dunbar "partied hearty," she said. "She was funny, opinionated and tiny but strong," Dunbar said. "She was absolute dynamite."

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