Collecting Images [05]
The Bernheimer Art and Antiques House

Meier Bernheimer visited Munich twice a year from Buttenhausen to sell textiles at a stand at a fair. From this modest beginning, one of the most important antiques business in Germany was to emerge, founded by Meier’s son, Lehmann (1841–1918) in 1864. The company “L. Bernheimer” moved several times within Munich before building the magnificent palais on what is now known as Lenbachplatz. Lehmann – and later his sons Otto, Max, and Ernst – turned the business into the leading supplier of carpets, decorative materials, and textile products, sculptures, antique furniture, antique silver, and Asian works of art. Not only the Bavarian royal household was a customer, but also most royal families throughout Europe, aristrocrats and the moneyed class, as well as museums in Munich, the whole of Europe, and in the USA.

The Bernheimers assembled an important private collection, which had a strong emphasis on textile products – recalling the origins of the family business. They also gave many works to museums in Munich. The company “L. Bernheimer” itself was disbanded in 1987; members of the family however still continue to play leading roles in the art business in Munich and worldwide.