Jacques Seligmann

[1] Born in the Free City of Frankfurt, Seligmann moved to Paris in 1874 where he worked for Paul Chevallier, an auctioneer, and Charles Mannheim, an art expert, before opening his own business on the Rue des Mathurins in 1880 with Edmond de Rothschild as one of his early clients.

His customers included members of the Russian Stroganoff family, the high-flying British politician Sir Philip Sassoon and American collectors such as Benjamin Altman, William Randolph Hearst, J. P. Morgan, Henry Walters, and Joseph Widener.

After the end of the First World War, interest in European art grew in the United States led by socialites such as Walter Arensberg, Albert C. Barnes, Louisine Havemeyer, Bertha Palmer, Duncan Phillips, and John Quinn.

The same year, while in Paris, he was successful in buying a large part of Sir Richard Wallace's renowned collection which contained a variety of valuable antiques and art works.

[2] In 1920, his son Germain Seligman became a partner and president of the New York office, formally joining Jacques Seligmann & Fils.