A Parisian in London, and New York: Genesis of a Modern Art Dynasty – Gimpel Fils

Abstract

The steady success of Gimpel Fils gallery in London, and its international reach across social and geographical boundaries, was a far cry from its tentative origins in late nineteenth-century Paris. Traditionally regarded as Quintessentially French, the Gimpel art-dealership's relationship with England also began in the late nineteenth century; the cross-Channel cultural connection is at least as significant as, and even more enduring than, its customarily celebrated Franco-American distinction. In this chapter my concern is to knit the Gimpel art-dealing dynasty with themes of exile, reconciliation, assimilation, redemption, remembrance and other overarching narratives of socio-political disruption: my point of departure is to situate it in its Franglo-Jewish context.