Schaeffer Galleries Records

Hanns Schaeffer and his wife Kate established Schaeffer Galleries in Berlin in 1925 and in 1936 opened a branch in New York. The Berlin gallery remained operational until 1939. The New York gallery was first located at 61 East 57th Street and changed venues several times before moving to its final location at 983 Park Avenue, where it remained for over 50 years until the Gallery closed in 2000. After Hanns Schaeffer's death in 1967, Kate Schaeffer became the owner and president of the gallery and continued to manage the business until her death in 2000. Schaeffer Galleries closed shortly thereafter.

Schaeffer Galleries specialized in Old Master paintings and drawings--first focusing on Flemish and Dutch master works, and later including Italian paintings and drawings from all schools—and was most active during the late 1930s through the early 1950s. In addition to selling art to private collectors, the Schaeffers also helped museums select art for their collections. Correggio's Salvator Mundi in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, Leonardo da Vinci's A Bear Walking at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Botticelli's Madonna and Child with Singing Angels at the Staatliche Museen in Berlin are just a few examples of museum works acquired through Schaeffer Galleries.