The Belgian Brand: Ernest Gambart and the British Market for Modern Belgian Art, c. 1850-1870

This article explores the impact of the art dealer Ernest Gambart and his circle on the commercial and artistic exchanges between the mid-nineteenth-century Belgian and British art scenes. As London's leading dealer in contemporary art, Gambart bought and imported works by many of the major Belgian artists of his time and almost single-handedly created a market for these artists in Britain, where the general interest in Belgian art greatly expanded hand in hand with the dealer's operations. This article discusses the effects of the business schemes of Gambart and his circle on the production, distribution and consumption of Belgian art and explores how primarily commercial exchanges also stimulated an artistic cross-fertilization between Belgium and Britain.

Publication year:2014