Magnates and Masterpieces
The German-Jewish Collectors of Edwardian Britain
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Yale University Press
Published:11th Nov '25
Should be back in stock very soon
The first published account of the German-Jewish magnates who won an international reputation as the leading art collectors of Edwardian Britain
The small but conspicuous group of German-Jewish magnates who settled in fin-de-siècle Britain filled their homes with the finest paintings, tapestries and decorative artworks that money could buy. Their high-profile acts of philanthropy and cultural patronage earned them public honours and popular esteem, establishing them within the most exalted ranks of Edwardian society. Yet their loyalties were called into question during the dark days of the First World War and their collections dispersed after their deaths, so that their presence has been largely written out of art history.
Magnates and Masterpieces is the first publication to explore the contribution made by German-Jewish collectors to the art scene in Edwardian Britain and beyond. As well as reconstructing their spectacular collections, the book uncovers the ideals and aspirations that the collectors brought with them from their New Humanist upbringing in Germany, most notably a belief in the power of art to enrich the soul. Lavishly illustrated and drawing on previously unseen archives, Magnates and Masterpieces restores the German-Jewish collectors of Edwardian Britain to their rightful place in twentieth-century cultural history.
“Beautifully illustrated and superbly researched. . . one of the outstanding books of the year.”—David Herman, Jewish Chronicle
“The story is enthralling, but its pictorial presentation catches the eye too: how the design of this book, its choice of paper, and the way in which each double-page spread manages to be faithful to all aspects.”—Michael Glover, The Tablet
“John Hilary tells the fascinating story of German-Jewish collectors in Edwardian Britain, many almost forgotten, whose astonishing collections have been spread across museums worldwide. The combination of scholarship and scandal makes a gripping read.”—Charles Sebag-Montefiore
“Cultural, financial and social history meet biography in John Hilary’s absorbing account of twelve outstanding Anglo-German collectors in Edwardian Britain. Hilary analyses how the collections they formed were influenced by their Jewish origins and their commitment to the New Humanist tradition of German education. The result is cultural history at its most incisive.”—Elizabeth A. Pergam, Society for the History of Collecting
“This scrupulously researched and evocatively written book is indeed ‘a work of restoration,’ allowing us to appreciate the variety, sophistication and splendour of collections whose dispersal often robbed their creators of any enduring recognition. It is a thoughtful study of taste, money and minority experience in the years before the outbreak of the First World War.”—Tom Stammers, Courtauld Institute of Art
ISBN: 9780300282870
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
336 pages