• more than 20 years experience in buying and selling Old Masters, Impressionist and Modern Art
• advising important collections around the world
• publicly appointed and certified art expert for the German courts

I started out in the art world in 1995 as an intern at Christie's New York in the Old Master paintings department. Subsequently I studied Art History, Theology and Anthropology at the LMU University of Munich. Already as a student I began to buy and sell independently and was also a painting scout for Bernheimer Fine Old Masters, Munich and Colnaghi, London. At the same time I worked part-time at the Neue Pinakothek in the 19th century department as well as for the Max Beckmann Archive and after graduation full-time at the Pinakothek der Moderne in the Modern art department of the Bavarian State collections. After experiencing the museum world for a couple of years, I worked for Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, and then decided to focus on my career as an independent art dealer. My love, passion and expertise are in exceptional paintings, drawings and prints in all price ranges. I can frequently achieve substantial deals in the field of Old Masters, Impressionist and Modern art.

EARLY BEGINNINGS
As a schoolboy I had no idea that my passion for vintage fountain pens would ultimately lead to handling some of the most important paintings still in private hands. It’s been a long, exciting and unlikely journey. Every weekend I hunted the neighbourhood flea markets, especially for vintage pens. I bought everything that I believed was undervalued, from old toys to vintage advertising signs, and usually resold those for a quick profit to fund my pen acquisitions. Of course I made many mistakes and quickly learned from them. With passion and persistence I slowly gained specialist knowledge of pens, and over the years built a rather impressive collection. I travelled extensively, visited pen fairs and became known in the international pen community. Numerous collectors visited and tried in vain to buy my collection, which gradually became better and better. I remember well when a Japanese shipping magnate arrived with his long, chauffeured Mercedes to view my pens in my modest teen bedroom. He offered me a staggering amount that truly shocked me, but still I refused to sell. Film producers from Beverly Hills, interior designers from Milan and diamond dealers from New York had no success either. In the meantime I went to more posh antique markets where I began to buy and sell paintings, drawings and prints. I regularly visited the Alte Pinakothek to study Old Masters and the Graphic Collection, where I worked through the Dürers and Rembrandts. The passion for art that immediately struck me has been growing day by day since then. I ultimately sold my pen collection and had a nice start capital for my art business. My ability to quickly assess the quality and value of artworks grew with every success I had and every mistake I made. As a teenager I regularly showed up on my bicycle at elegant art galleries, suspiciously eyeballed by the owners, and much to their surprise occasionally I bought very expensive paintings that in truth were a real steal. A few years later, while working as a Christie's intern at the Old Master paintings department in New York, I had a meeting with an important dealer, who then was unknown to me: It was the legendary Herman Shickman. I immediately recognized some very rare vintage Montblanc pens on his desk. He was puzzled and asked me how I knew. I told him that everything started for me with my pen hunt at the local flea markets. To my great surprise he called all his employees into the office, pointed at me and said: „You better watch that guy“. It turned out that he had started exactly the same way as a boy in pre-war Germany!