The Brummer Gallery and the business of art

ahmad syafi maarif;

The Brummer Gallery was one of the most influential art dealerships of the early twentieth century, whose extensive interests had a significant effect on the collecting of medieval art in the United States. Founded in Paris in 1909 by Joseph Brummer (1883–1947), who later included his brothers Imre (1889–1928), and Ernest (1891–1964) in the business, the gallery quickly grew to service America’s wealthy post-Gilded- Age clientele. This paper will highlight the gallery’s importance in the formation of such private collections, as well as those of public institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with a focus on its dealings of medieval works. Additionally, it will closely profile the history of the gallery itself and its proprietors. The
Brummer archive at The Cloisters, with its comprehensive gallery records documenting the business’s activity, provides the primary source material for this study.