DURLACHER BROTHERS
Henry Durlacher (1825-1902) founded the Durlacher Brothers firm of art dealers in London in 1843 and was later joined by his brother George (1830-1913) and after Henry's death in 1902, the gallery was run by his two sons who, after the First World War decided to open a branch in New York. The firm dealt principally with porcelain and majolica, eventually adding furniture, tapestries, decorative objects, and paintings to their stock. The brothers Durlacher built a clientele that included such significant collectors as Sir Richard Wallace, the Duke of Hamilton, Joseph Widener, George Salting, and J. Pierpont Morgan and the Durlacher Brothers frequently worked with the world's leading museums such as The Frick, The Berlin Museum, The British Museum, The National Gallery in Scotland, Boston Museum, Victoria and Albert, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. R. Kirk Askew (1903-1974) joined the firm in the 1920s to manage the New York City branch, which became the more influential of the two branches. George Durlacher, the oldest surviving partner of the originally constituted firm, retired in 1938 and Askew became the owner of Durlacher Brothers and ran the business from New York until around 1969.