The Society for the History of Collecting is delighted to invite you to its forthcoming ‘in conversation’ launch of John Hilary’s new book Magnates and Masterpieces: The German-Jewish Collectors of Edwardian Britain on Wednesday 28 January 2026, 5.30pm-7.30pm (GMT)
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; 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. A conversation with the author will lead on to a discussion of themes from the book such as the status of the ‘serious collector’, the significance of cultural patronage for first-generation immigrants, and the classic German conception of art collecting as a means to greater aesthetic sensibility and spiritual growth.
John Hilary is an honorary professor in the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham, and previously author of From Refugees to Royalty: The Remarkable Story of the Messel Family of Nymans (Peter Owen, 2021).
Registration will close on 26 January 2026. This is a free event.
For more information and registration: thesocietyforthehistoryofcollecting.wildapricot.org/event-6473639
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