Colnaghi

Colnaghi is an art dealership located in St James's, central London, England, widely recognized as the oldest continuously operating commercial art gallery in the world. Founded in 1760, the firm has evolved over more than two and a half centuries from a Parisian print shop into a leading international dealer specializing in Old Master paintings, ancient art, and master drawings. Today, Colnaghi maintains additional locations in New York and Madrid under the ownership of German art dealer Konrad O. Bernheimer.

The origins of Colnaghi trace back to 1760 in Paris, where Italian firework manufacturer Giovanni Battista Torre established a shop named "Cabinet de Physique Expérimentale" on the rue Saint-Honoré, selling scientific instruments, books, and prints. In 1767, Torre's son Anthony moved to London and opened brokerage with fellow Italian immigrant Anthony Molteno, specializing in prints. Following Giovanni Torre's death in 1780, Anthony hired Paul Colnaghi, born Paolo Colnago in 1751 in the Brianza region of northern Italy, to manage a new Paris shop in the Palais-Royal in 1784. Colnaghi had arrived in Paris after his father's death in 1783, working initially for a Milanese optician named Ciceri who recommended him to Torre.

Colnaghi relocated to London in May 1785, joining Torre and Molteno, who were successfully selling prints by engravers such as William Wynne Ryland and Valentine Green. The London business moved to 132 Pall Mall in 1786. After Anthony Torre retired to Italy in 1788, the firm operated as Molteno, Colnaghi & Co. Paul Colnaghi married Elizabeth Baker, Anthony Torre's sister-in-law, and concentrated on selling new prints and engravings of Old Master paintings. He published the popular Cries of London series from 1792 to 1797, and moved premises to 23 Cockspur Street in 1799. Colnaghi became official print-suplier to the Prince Regent, later receiving a Royal Warrant from George IV, and also served Charlotte, Princess Royal.

Paul's elder son Dominic Charles became a partner around 1810, followed by his younger son Martin. A family dispute in 1824 resulted in Martin retaining the original shop, while Paul and Dominic established P. & D. Colnaghi & Co. at 14 Pall Mall East. Paul Colnaghi died on 26 August 1833. Dominic Colnaghi continued with his cousin John Anthony Scott, who joined in 1839. Scott commissioned William Simpson's Crimean War watercolours, published as The Seat of War in the East in 1854, and the gallery sold photographs by Roger Fenton and Julia Margaret Cameron. After Scott's death in 1864 and Dominic's retirement in 1865, Andrew McKay became sole proprietor, later joined by his son William McKay.

The firm's character shifted dramatically in 1894 when William McKay, Edmund Deprez, and Otto Gutekunst assumed leadership. Under Gutekunst, Colnaghi transformed from a print specialist into a premier dealer of Old Master paintings, capitalizing on the Settled Land Act 1882, the introduction of death duties in 1894, and growing American demand. The gallery developed close relationships with collectors including Isabella Stewart Gardner, Henry Clay Frick, Robert Sterling Clark, and Andrew W. Mellon, as well as art historians Bernard Berenson and Wilhelm von Bode.

In 1911, Colnaghi moved to 144/146 New Bond Street. The firm served as intermediary for Soviet sales of Hermitage paintings in 1930. Lord Jacob Rothschild acquired the company in 1970, diversifying into Oriental art, photography, sculpture, and decorative arts, before selling to the Dr. Oetker group in 1981. A New York branch opened in 1983. Konrad Bernheimer purchased the firm in 2002, and in 2016 partnered with Spanish dealers Jorge Coll and Nicolás Cortés, with Coll becoming president of Colnaghi Limited. The gallery's reputation was tarnished in the early 1980s by the Eric Hebborn affair, involving a forger who deceived experts with imitations of Mannerist drawings.

Colnaghi's holdings and expertise have shifted substantially across its long history. The firm began as a print seller, dealing in engravings by leading practitioners and publishing popular series. From the 1890s onward, it specialized increasingly in Old Master paintings, master drawings, and eventually ancient art. Under Rothschild's ownership from 1970, the dealership expanded its scope to include Oriental art, photography, sculpture, and decorative arts. The contemporary Colnaghi focuses on Old Master paintings, ancient art, and master drawings, maintaining its position as a significant intermediary between private collectors, institutions, and the art market.

Among Colnaghi's most significant transactions was the 1896 sale of Titian's Rape of Europa to Isabella Stewart Gardner for £20,000, acquired from Edward Bligh, 7th Earl of Darnley. The firm also sold Sandro Botticelli's History of Lucretia in 1894. Working with Max Jakob Friedländer and Wilhelm von Bode, Colnaghi facilitated important acquisitions by the Berlin Gemäldegalerie, including Vermeer's The Glass of Wine and Rembrandt's Preacher Anslo and His Wife. The gallery's early association with John Constable included assisting with the exhibition of The Hay Wain at the Paris Salon of 1824, where it won a gold medal. Colnaghi also organized an exhibition of Eugène Delacroix's paintings in 1829. The firm's historical archives are preserved at Waddesdon Manor.

Colnaghi has occupied numerous locations throughout its history. The original London operation established in 1767 was near Pall Mall. The business moved to 132 Pall Mall in 1786, then to 23 Cockspur Street in 1799. Following the 1824 family division, P. & D. Colnaghi & Co. operated from 14 Pall Mall East, near the nascent National Gallery. In 1911, the gallery relocated to 144/146 New Bond Street. The current London premises are situated at 26 Bury Street in St James's. The firm maintains additional galleries in New York, established in 1983, and in Madrid.

Colnaghi operates as a commercial art dealership under the ownership of Konrad O. Bernheimer, with Jorge Coll serving as president of Colnaghi Limited following the 2016 partnership. The gallery's primary residences is at 26 Bury Street in London's St James's district, with additional locations in New York and Madrid. As a private art dealership rather than a public museum, access is typically by appointment or during scheduled exhibitions. The firm's website is http://www.colnaghi.co.uk/. Historical archives relating to the gallery's operations are held at Waddesdon Manor.