Joseph Brummer (1883 – 14 April 1947) was a Hungarian-born art dealer and collector who exhibited both antique artifacts from different cultures, early European art, and the works of modern painters and sculptors in his galleries in Paris and New York. In 1906 he and his two brothers opened their first gallery in Paris, the Brummer Gallery. At the start of World War I, they closed the gallery and moved to New York City. Joseph alone opened his next gallery in 1921 in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Biography

Joseph (originally József) Brummer was born in

Sombor Sombor ( sr-Cyrl, Сомбор, ; hu, Zombor; rue, Зомбор, Zombor) is a city and the administrative center of the West Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city has a total population of 47,623 (), while ...

, then in Hungary (now

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

), in 1883. He studied applied arts in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also other alternative names) is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat of Csongrád-Csanád county. The University of Szeged is one of the m ...

from 1897 on, and continued these studies in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

from 1899 on. Afterward, he studied at Munich before starting on his own as an artist in Budapest and Szeged. Together with his brothers Ernest (1891-1964) and Imre (died 1928), he moved to Paris in 1905. In 1906, Brummer and his brothers opened the Brummer Gallery in Paris at the Boulevard Raspail, where they sold African art, Japanese prints and pre-Columbian, mainly

Peruvian Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest of Peru, Spanish conquest in th ...

art, alongside contemporary paintings and sculptures. During the autumn of 1908, he shared a studio space at Cité Falguière with

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

sculptor

Joseph Csaky Joseph Csaky (also written Josef Csàky, Csáky József, József Csáky and Joseph Alexandre Czaky) (18 March 1888 – 1 May 1971) was a Hungarian avant-garde artist, sculptor, and graphic arts, graphic artist, best known for his early partici ...

, who was also from Szeged and Budapest.Edith Balas, 1998, ''Joseph Csaky: A Pioneer of Modern Sculpture''
American Philosophical Society Brummer studied sculpture under Jules-Felix Coutan, Auguste Rodin and in 1908

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, and sculptur ...

. He also attended the

Académie de la Grande Chaumière The Académie de la Grande Chaumière is an art school in the Montparnasse district of Paris, France. History The school was founded in 1904 by the Catalan painter Claudio Castelucho on the rue de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, near the Acad� ...

, and thus got to know contemporary artists. At the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Joseph Brummer closed in Paris and moved to New York City. In 1921 he reopened a gallery at 43 East Fifty-Seventh Street in

. He specialized in medieval and Renaissance European art, and Classical, Ancient Egyptian, African, and pre-Columbian objects, but also hosted some of the earliest exhibitions of modern European art in the United States. It stayed in business until 1949, two years after Joseph's death. A major part of his private art collection was bought by the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

in 1947. A second part of the Joseph Brummer art collection, still over 2400 lots, was sold in 1949 by

Parke-Bernet Galleries Parke-Bernet Galleries was an American auction house, active from 1937 to 1964, when Sotheby's purchased it. The company was founded by a group of employees of the American Art Association, including Otto Bernet, Hiram H. Parke, Leslie A. Hyam, L ...

. The final part, 600 pieces that remained in the family, were sold in Zurich in October 1979. These pieces were eventually inherited by Ernest Brummer's widow, Ella Bache Brummer. Their value was estimated at $10 million. From 1931 until 1948, Brummer had owned the

Guennol Lioness The ''Guennol Lioness'' is a 5,000-year-old Mesopotamian statue allegedly found near Baghdad, Iraq. Depicting a muscular anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic leonine-human, it sold for $57.2 million at Sotheby's auction house on December 5, 2007. ...

; in 2007 it was the most expensive sculpture ever sold at auction. In 1909 Brummer had his portrait painted by

Henri Rousseau Henri Julien Félix Rousseau (; 21 May 1844 – 2 September 1910)
at the Anne Goldthwaite Anne Goldthwaite (June 28, 1869 – January 29, 1944) was an American painter and printmaker and an advocate of women's rights and equal rights. Goldthwaite studied art in New York City. She then moved to Paris where she studied modern art, includ ...

in 1915. In 1993, the Rousseau portrait was sold by Christie's for £2,971,500 ($4,421,592). It is currently owned by the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

Gallery

The New York branch of the Brummer Gallery was opened in 1914 by Imre and Joseph Brummer. Joseph and his brothers Ernest were among the most significant art dealers of the first half of the 20th century, dealing in a broad range of art that spanned from classical antiquity to modern art. Their collection included many works from the Middle Ages, Pre-Columbian America, and Renaissance and Baroque decorative arts. Following Joseph Brummer's death in 1947, the gallery closed down in 1949, and its collection was auctioned off over the next three decades.

Exhibitions

This is an incomplete list of the exhibitions of modern art in the Brummer Gallery in New York. *1921, 4 to 23 April:

Maurice Prendergast Maurice Brazil Prendergast (October 10, 1858 – February 1, 1924) was an American artist who painted in oil and watercolor, and created monotypes. His delicate landscapes and scenes of modern life, characterized by mosaic-like color, are ...

*1921, May: "Works by French and American artists including paintings by Jennie Van Fleet Cowdery", including two works by Auguste Renoir *1921, 24 October to 21 November:

Anne Goldthwaite Anne Goldthwaite (June 28, 1869 – January 29, 1944) was an American painter and printmaker and an advocate of women's rights and equal rights. Goldthwaite studied art in New York City. She then moved to Paris where she studied modern art, includ ...

*1921, 28 November to 24 December: Frank Burty *1922, 3 to 21 January:

Peggy Bacon Margaret Frances Bacon (May 2, 1895 – January 4, 1987) was an American artist, best known for her satirical caricatures. Bacon studied under Kenneth Hayes Miller at the Art Students League of New York, where she taught herself drypoint an ...

and Alexander Brook *1922: sculptures by

and

Manolo Hugué Manuel Martinez Hugué, better known simply as Manolo (29 April 1872 – 17 November 1945), was a Catalan Spanish sculptor in the noucentisme movement. Although a friend of Pablo Picasso, his style was much closer to that of Aristide Maillol. Bio ...

, and paintings by Amedeo Modigliani,

André Derain André Derain (, ; 10 June 1880 – 8 September 1954) was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse. Biography Early years Derain was born in 1880 in Chatou, Yvelines, Île-de-France (region), Île-de-Franc ...

Maurice Utrillo Maurice Utrillo (), born Maurice Valadon; 26 December 1883 – 5 November 1955), was a French painter of the School of Paris who specialized in cityscapes. Born in the Montmartre quarter of Paris, France, Utrillo is one of the few famous pain ...

Marie Laurencin Marie Laurencin (31 October 1883 – 8 June 1956) was a French painter and printmaker. She became an important figure in the Parisian avant-garde as a member of the Cubists associated with the Section d'Or. Biography Laurencin was born in Paris ...

and

Pascin Julius Mordecai Pincas (March 31, 1885 – June 5, 1930), known as Pascin (; erroneously or ), Jules Pascin, or the "Prince of Montparnasse", was a Bulgarian artist known for his paintings and drawings. He later became an American citizen ...

*1922 December 15 to 1923, 13 January: Auguste Rodin (paintings and sculptures) *1923: 17 January to 10 February: Pascin *1923, 17 March to 14 April:

Thomas Eakins Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins (; July 25, 1844 – June 25, 1916) was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important American artists. For the length ...

*1923: Bernard Karfiol *1923, 22 October to 10 November: Toshi Shimizu *1923, 15 December to 1924, 5 January: Works by

Max Jacob Max Jacob (; 12 July 1876 – 5 March 1944) was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic. Life and career After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic ca ...

*1924, 25 February to 22 March: Henri Matisse *1924:

Hermine David Hermine Lionette Cartan David (19 April 1886 in Paris – 1 December 1970 in Bry-sur-Marne) was a French painter. Early life and education Hermine David was born in Paris in 1886. She was born out of wedlock; her mother insisted that her b ...

*1924: José de Togores *1924, 4 to 27 December:

Georges Seurat Georges Pierre Seurat ( , , ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough su ...

*1925, January:

Roger Fry Roger Eliot Fry (14 December 1866 – 9 September 1934) was an English painter and critic, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Establishing his reputation as a scholar of the Old Masters, he became an advocate of more recent developme ...

*1925, February: Walter Pach *1925, 2 to 21 March 1925:

Michel Kikoine Michel Kikoïne ( be, Міхаіл Кікоін; russian: Михаил Кико́ин, ''Michail Kikóin''; 31 May 1892 – 4 November 1968) was a Lithuanian Jewish-French painter. Life Kikoine was born in Rechytsa, present-day Belarus. The ...

*1925: Bernard Karfiol (second exhibition at Brummer) *1926, 18 January to 13 February:

Aristide Maillol Aristide Joseph Bonaventure Maillol (; December 8, 1861 – September 27, 1944) was a French Sculpture, sculptor, Painting, painter, and printmaking, printmaker.Le Normand-Romain, Antoinette . "Maillol, Aristide". ''Grove Art Online. Oxford ...

*1926, 17 November to 15 December: Sculptures by Constantin Brâncuși. *1927, 17 January to 12 February: Béla Czóbel *1927, 14 February to 12 March: Bernard Karfiol (third exhibition at Brummer) *1927, March to 9 April: Eugène Zak *1927, late: First personal exhibition of works by

Charles Despiau Charles Despiau (November 4, 1874 – October 28, 1946) was a French sculptor. Early life Charles-Albert Despiau was born at Mont-de-Marsan, Landes and attended first the École des Arts Décoratifs and later the École nationale supérieure de ...

*1928, 1 to 25 February: John Storrs *1928, 27 February to 24 March:

Gaston Lachaise Gaston Lachaise (March 19, 1882 – October 18, 1935) was a French-born sculptor, active in the early 20th century. A native of Paris, he was most noted for his female nudes such as '' Standing Woman''. Gaston Lachaise was taught the refinement o ...

*1928, 26 March to 21 April:

Jacques Villon Jacques Villon (July 31, 1875 – June 9, 1963), also known as Gaston Duchamp, was a French Cubist and Abstract art, abstract painter and printmaker. Early life Born Émile Méry Frédéric Gaston Duchamp in Damville, Eure, Damville, Eure, ...

, paintings *1929, 16 February to 16 March: A. S. Baylinson and Morris Kantor *1929, 18 March to 13 April: Jane Berlandina *1929, 28 March to 12 April:

Raymond Duchamp-Villon Raymond Duchamp-Villon (5 November 1876 – 9 October 1918) was a French sculptor. Life and art Duchamp-Villon was born Pierre-Maurice-Raymond Duchamp in Damville, Eure, in the Normandy region of France, the second son of Eugène and Lucie Ducha ...

, sculptures *1929, May: Michel Kikoine (second exhibition at Brummer) *1929, 1 to 28 November: "Portraits of Maria Lani by Fifty-One Painters", featuring work by

Chaïm Soutine Chaïm Soutine (13 January 1893 – 9 August 1943) was a Belarusian painter who made a major contribution to the expressionist movement while living and working in Paris. Inspired by classic painting in the European tradition, exemplified by the ...

Kees van Dongen Cornelis Theodorus Maria "Kees" van Dongen (26 January 1877 – 28 May 1968) was a Dutch-French painter who was one of the leading Fauves. Van Dongen's early work was influenced by the Hague School and symbolism and it evolved gradually into a r ...

Georges Rouault Georges Henri Rouault (; 27 May 1871, Paris – 13 February 1958) was a French painter, draughtsman and print artist, whose work is often associated with Fauvism and Expressionism. Childhood and education Rouault was born in Paris into a ...

, Pierre Bonnard, Rodolphe-Théophile Bosshard, Charles Despiau, Henri Matisse,

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to eac ...

, André Derain, and others *1929, 30 November to 13 December: collection of

Albert Eugene Gallatin Albert Eugene Gallatin (July 23, 1881 – June 15, 1952) was an American artist. He wrote about, collected, exhibited, and created works of art. Called "one of the great figures in early 20th-century American culture," he was a leading proponent ...

, including work by Fernand Léger, Man Ray,

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented ...

André Masson André-Aimé-René Masson (4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist. Biography Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, Oise, but when he was eight his father's work took the family first briefly to Lille and then to Brussel ...

, Joan Miró,

Joseph Stella Joseph Stella (born Giuseppe Michele Stella, June 13, 1877 – November 5, 1946) was an Italian-born American Futurist painter best known for his depictions of industrial America, especially his images of the Brooklyn Bridge. He is also ...

, and a 1906 self-portrait by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

*1929, 14 December to 1930, 31 January:

Othon Friesz Achille-Émile Othon Friesz (6 February 1879 – 10 January 1949), who later called himself Othon Friesz, a native of Le Havre, was a French artist of the Fauvist movement. Biography Othon Friesz was born in Le Havre, the son of a long line of ...

, Paintings *1930, 1 to 28 February: Max Jacob (second exhibition at Brummer) *1930, 8 to 31 March: Jane Berlandina (second exhibition at Brummer) *1930, 1 April to 3 May: Georges Rouault *1930, 20 October to 20 November: Jacques Villon (second exhibition at Brummer) *1930, 22 November to 20 December:

Pierre Roy Pierre Roy (born March 12, 1952) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played 316 games in the World Hockey Association. He played for the Quebec Nordiques, Cincinnati Stingers, and New England Whalers New is an adjective re ...

*1931, 5 January to 7 February: Henri Matisse, sculptures *1931, 13 to 28 February: Anne Goldthwaite (second exhibition at Brummer) *1931, 16 March to 18 April:

Théophile Steinlen Théophile Alexandre Steinlen (November 10, 1859 – December 13, 1923), was a Swiss-born French Art Nouveau painter and printmaker. Biography Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, Steinlen studied at the University of Lausanne before taking a job ...

*1931, 13 October to 7 November: Marcel Mouillot *1931, 9 November to ?:

Charles Dufresne Georges-Charles Dufresne (23 November 1876, Millemont - 8 August 1938, La Seyne-sur-Mer) was a French painter, engraver, sculptor and decorator. Biography He came from a family of sailors and fishermen that originated in Granville. He lef ...

*1932, 9 to 29 February: Arthur Everett Austin, Jr. *1932, 5 March to 5 April: Josep Llorens i Artigas *1932, November to 10 December: Maurice Marinot, glass *1932, 13 December to ?: 18th century French drawings, from the Richard Owen collection *1933, 3 January to 28 February: Aristide Maillol (second exhibition at Brummer) *1933, 4 March to 15 April: Pierre Roy (second exhibition at Brummer) *1933, October to November: 18th and 19th century French drawings from the Richard Owen collection (second part), including works by

Antoine Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised October 10, 1684died July 18, 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French painter and draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement, a ...

Gustave Moreau Gustave Moreau (; 6 April 1826 – 18 April 1898) was a French artist and an important figure in the Symbolist movement. Jean Cassou called him "the Symbolist painter par excellence".Cassou, Jean. 1979. ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Symbolism.' ...

and Théophile Steinlen *1933, 17 November to 1934, 13 January: Sculptures by Constantin Brâncuși (second exhibition at Brummer). *1934, 24 February to 15 April:

Pablo Gargallo Pablo EmilioorPau Emili Gargallo (5 January 1881 – 28 December 1934), known simply as Pau or Pablo Gargallo, was a Spanish sculptor and painter. Life and career Born in Maella, Aragon, he moved to Barcelona, with his family in 1888, where ...

*1934, 5 November to 29 December: Charles Despiau (second exhibition at Brummer) *1935, 5 January to 28 February:

André Dunoyer de Segonzac André Dunoyer de Segonzac (6 July 1884 – 17 September 1974) was a French painter and graphic artist. Biography Segonzac was born in Boussy-Saint-Antoine and spent his childhood there and in Paris. His parents wanted him to attend the military ...

*1935, 15 March to 11 May: Mateo Hernandez *1935, October: Marguerite Zorach *1935, 2 December to 1936, 31 January: first US exhibition of

Jacques Lipchitz Jacques Lipchitz (26 May 1973) was a Cubist sculptor. Lipchitz retained highly figurative and legible components in his work leading up to 1915–16, after which naturalist and descriptive elements were muted, dominated by a synthetic style of ...

*1936, 2 March to 4 April: Béla Czóbel *1936, 9 November to 1937, 2 January: André Derain *1937, 25 January to 20 March:

Ossip Zadkine Ossip Zadkine (russian: Осип Цадкин; 28 January 1888 – 25 November 1967) was a Belarusian-born French artist. He is best known as a sculptor, but also produced paintings and lithographs. Early years and education Zadkine was born on ...

*1937, 1 November to 31 December: François Pompon *1938, February and March: Léon Hartl *1938, 7 to 28 November: Charles Dufresne (second Brummer exhibition) *1938: 7 November to 1939, 7 January:

Henri Laurens Henri Laurens (February 18, 1885 – May 5, 1954) was a French sculptor and illustrator. Early life and education Born in Paris, Henri Laurens worked as a stonemason before he became a sculptor. From 1899 to 1902, he attended drawing class ...

Notes

External links

The Brummer Gallery Records
over 13,000 digitized object cards from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries
Walters Art Museum
objects with provenance from Joseph Brummer
Metropolitan Museum of Art
objects with provenance from Joseph Brummer
The Frick Collection
research information
Article on The Brummer Gallery Records
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries.
Documenting the Gilded Age: New York City Exhibitions at the Turn of the 20th Century
A

New York Art Resources Consortium The New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC) consists of the research libraries of three leading art museums in New York City: The Brooklyn Museum, The Frick Collection, and The Museum of Modern Art. With funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundatio ...

project. Brummer Gallery exhibition catalogs.
Oral history interview with Dr. John Laszlo, 2015 Dec. 6
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives, New York. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brummer, Joseph 1883 births 1947 deaths People from Sombor Hungarian emigrants to France French emigrants to the United States Hungarian art dealers American art dealers Hungarian art collectors American art collectors

Biography

Gallery

Exhibitions

Notes

Further reading

External links