The family Nahmad It is one of the most influential in the art world because they have been trading works for decades. The descendants of the Lebanese surname are the millionaires Ezra and David, who They have one of the largest collections of modern and contemporary art. The brothers collected pieces created by Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet and many other renowned artists.
The family originated in Beirut, Lebanon but The context of violence against Jews led her to emigrate several times. At the end of 1940, the father of both businessmen moved with his family to Beirut. But at the beginning of the 60’s, they had to leave their native country to move to Italy. There they settled in the city of Milan, where the brothers discovered their passion for art.
Who are Ezra and David Nahmad, the art collector brothers
The banker’s children, Hillel Nahmad They discovered their passion for art during their adolescence in Milan. They used their free time to dedicate themselves to trading in the Italian stock market. They formed a friendship with the cubist artist Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler through his first transactions and subsequently sold him famous works by Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Juan Gris.
To Ezra and David, Art represents a passion and a secure financial investment for them.. Both brothers were able to take advantage of the art market crises between the 1970s and early 1990s. During this period, they were able to acquire large quantities of works of art. One of their most purchased auctions was at Kandinsky during 1971, where the Nahmad brothers acquired half of the paintings on offer.
The fillette à la corbeille fleurie.jpg
The Art Newspaper
His works are not protected, but they are loaned to be exhibited in the largest museums in the world. For example, they collaborated with renowned institutions such as the Louvre, the Center Pompidou, the Grand Palais and the Musée d’Orsay. In these places they exhibited the work “La fillette à la corbeille fleurie” made by Pablo Picasso in 1905, which the brothers acquired for 115 million dollars.
One of the most successful transactions of the Nahmad family was the purchase of a Picasso oil painting which he made in 1955, which Forbes indicated that they acquired for 2.6 million dollars and sold for 30.8 million dollars. It was also reported that another aspect that characterizes them is their inclination to buy and preserve works of art.
What is the art collection of the Nahmad brothers like?
Embed – The largest private art collection in the world
According to Forbes, the president of Christie’s New York stated that the brothers were decorated for “sell more art than anyone alive”. In 2007, Forbes magazine estimated the combined value of the Nahmad family’s art collection to be between $7 and $8 billion. It was also revealed that both brothers divided their artistic assets in half between the two of them.
Ezra and David managed to form a large warehouse of almost 1400 square meters in a duty-free building, near the Geneva airport. This place houses a number of works that are estimated to be between 4,500 and 5,000 works of art., among which pieces by Monet, Renpir and Matisse stand out. The set of pieces by these artists has an estimated value between 3 to 4 billion dollars. Among his treasures are also 300 works by Picasso, which constitutes the author’s largest collection, worth a billion dollars.
The Nahmad brothers’ assets in 2024
Forbes magazine reported that art collectors have a combined fortune of $4.1 billion. David Nahamad took the lead with a fortune of $2.3 million, while Ezra boasts $1.8 million.
