Bernheim-Jeune

The Dealers who shaped Art History Vol. 2
December 16, 2025
  • Claude Monet and Gaston Bernheim de Villiers

  • At Ward Moretti, we believe that art history isn’t just written by artists and collectors, but also by the dealers who connected and supported them. These figures did more than sell paintings; they steered taste, built markets, and helped form the institutions we now revere.

     

    Much of our work involves sifting through archives to uncover the histories of the paintings we handle, and we often rely on the detailed (and sometimes colourful) records left by dealers. This series celebrates their significance, each instalment focusing on one dealer who helped shape the story of art.

     

    Today, we turn to Bernheim-Jeune, one of the most influential galleries in the development of Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, and early Modern art.

  • A Dynasty of Taste

    Few names in the art market carry as much weight or as long a history as Bernheim-Jeune. Founded in 1863 by Alexandre Bernheim, the gallery was taken forward by his sons, Josse and Gaston Bernheim de Villers, who transformed the business into one of the central engines of modern French art.

     

    If Vollard was the daring outsider and Durand-Ruel the champion of Impressionism, Bernheim-Jeune occupied a unique position: a stable, respected family gallery capable of institutionalising the avant-garde.

     

    They were among the first to promote Corot, Courbet, and the early Impressionists, and by the turn of the century they had become major supporters of Vuillard, Bonnard, and the Nabi movement. Their Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré gallery was known for its refined exhibitions, scholarly catalogues, and a network of collectors who trusted the Bernheim name implicitly.

     

  • Pioneers of the Modern Exhibition

    Pierre Bonnard, Les Frères Bernheim, 1920, oil on canvas,

    166 x 155.5cm., Musée d’Orsay, Paris

    Pioneers of the Modern Exhibition

    The Bernheims’ influence rested not only on what they sold, but how they showed it. They understood that modern art needed careful presentation and patience. They recognised the importance of new artistic movements and were bold enough to handle works which shocked Parisian audiences, such as early Fauvist pieces by Matisse and Derain, or Vuillard’s Nabis paintings.

     

    In March 1901, Bernheim-Jeune held the first major retrospective exhibition for Vincent van Gogh, introducing his vibrant, bold works to the Parisian art world and significantly boosting his posthumous fame. It proved a pivotal event that launched Van Gogh’s global recognition and established the gallery as a key supporter of Modern art.

  • The Bernheims also published critical writings and artist monographs, helping to bridge the gap between avant-garde art and the public. Their exhibitions were known for their atmosphere of quiet scholarship — a stark contrast to the more theatrical Vollard or the comparatively austere Kahnweiler.

  • Resilience and Longevity

    Bernheim-Jeune at the corner of Avenue Matignon and Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in 1925. It was the first gallery to settle down in Avenue Matignon.

    Resilience and Longevity

    Like many European dealers, Bernheim-Jeune suffered heavily during the Second World War. The family was Jewish and so faced severe persecution. In 1941 the gallery was forcibly “Aryanised”, stripped of control, and its stock imperilled. Archives were dispersed, and much was lost.

     

    Yet the Bernheims rebuilt after the war, re-opening the gallery and reasserting their position in the Modern art world. Their long relationships with artists and collectors endured, and the gallery continued to operate well into the 21st Century, eventually ceasing operations in 2019.

  • Although more discreet than some of their contemporaries, the Bernheims were not without memorable stories. A favourite involves Pierre Bonnard, who was notoriously hesitant to consider a painting finished. After delivering a work to the gallery, he would often return unannounced, paintbrush hidden in his coat, to “touch up” a canvas already hanging in the showroom.

     

    According to family accounts, Josse Bernheim took to keeping a careful eye on the entrances during vernissages, lest Bonnard quietly repaint half the exhibition.

  • Legacy

    Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Jeune fille lisant, c. 1890, oil on canvas, 41 x 32.4 cm.,

    sold by Bernheim-Jeune.

    For sale with Ward Moretti.

    Legacy

    Bernheim-Jeune stands as one of the rare galleries that both preserved tradition and embraced innovation — a bridge between 19th Century Classicism and 20th Century Modernism.

     

    Today, museums around the world owe them a quiet debt. Works once handled by Bernheim-Jeune now hang in the Musée d’Orsay, the National Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and countless other institutions. They were long-term supporters of the Nabis and Post-Impressionists, early promoters of Fauvism and they were also central to the early establishment of Van Gogh’s reputation.

     

    In short, Bernheim-Jeune were not just dealers; they were cultural custodians — a family whose refined eye and steady commitment helped shape the modern canon.