Christie’s Paris auctions the Stern collection on December 11th, featuring 360 lots from three generations of European banking dynasty collectors.
Christie’s Paris is about to unveil something extraordinary. The Stern family, European banking royalty since the eighteenth century, is putting up for auction a collection that’s been locked away from public view for generations.
We’re talking 360 lots that tell the story of three generations of serious collectors, all going under the hammer on December 11, with an online sale running from November 28 to December 12.
The sale was announced on on October 6, 2025, and the art world has been buzzing since. This isn’t just a pile of expensive objects. It’s a carefully assembled portrait of a family whose influence stretched way beyond the banking halls of Frankfurt, Paris, Berlin, and London, reaching deep into European cultural philanthropy.
A Dynasty of Taste: The Stern Family Legacy
The Stern family’s rise mirrors Europe’s own economic transformation. Jacob Simson Hayum Stern laid the commercial groundwork between 1780 and 1835, starting with a successful wine business in Frankfurt. But the real turning point? His sister Caroline Stern married Baron Salomon Mayer von Rothschild (between 1774 and 1855), and that alliance redirected the entire family trajectory toward finance.
That strategic connection with the Rothschild dynasty launched the Stern family’s banking ambitions. Two of Jacob’s sons trained at the prestigious M.A. Rothschild Bank, learning everything they needed to establish their own financial institutions. The next generation founded A.J. Stern & Cie bank in Paris in 1824, Julius J. Stern in Berlin in 1833, and Stern Brothers in London in 1836. These banks positioned themselves right at the centre of the Industrial Revolution, becoming key partners in Deutsche Bank’s international expansion and helping build major financial institutions that still exist today, including BNP Paribas.
But the Sterns weren’t just about accumulating wealth. They became major cultural patrons, and their contributions to French institutions show a real commitment to preserving artistic heritage. The Louvre has been a particular beneficiary, receiving an exceptional collection of objets d’art from the Middle Ages and Renaissance, plus a magnificent bust of opera singer Sophie Arnould (1740-1802) by the celebrated sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon.
Marguerite Stern, née Fould (1866-1956), donated that bust to the Louvre in 1947. It’s just one example of the family’s dedication to public cultural enrichment. Her grandsons, Gérard and Philippe Stern, kept the tradition alive when they donated a portrait by Carolus Duran to the Musée du Petit Palais in 1978.
That portrait now hangs alongside one of her sister-in-law, Madame Louis Singer, née Thérèse Stern (1859-1933), painted by Paul Baudry (1828-1886). And beyond Paris’s major institutions, museums in Bayonne and other French cities have benefited from Stern’s generosity too.
The Collectors: Edgard, Alice, and Their Descendants
The collection hitting the market now represents the refined sensibilities of three key figures. First, Edgard Stern (1854-1937), who headed the Paris branch of the family banking empire. Then his daughter-in-law, Alice Stern (1906-2008). And their descendants, each adding their own distinctive aesthetic vision to this remarkable assemblage.
Edgard Stern had an extraordinary passion for Old Master paintings, especially seventeenth-century Dutch masters. Among his acquisitions was “Un Marché aux poissons au bord d’une rivière” by Mathys Schoevaerdts (1665-1723). His collection also featured exceptional eighteenth-century French art by celebrated artists, including Jean Baptiste Pater, François Hubert Drouais, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, and Hubert Robert.
The collection includes significant drawings by major eighteenth-century artists, notably Pierre-Paul Prud’hon and François Boucher. These masterpieces were displayed in Edgard Stern’s hôtel particulier on Avenue Montaigne in Paris and at the Château de Villette in the Oise region, which the family acquired in 1900. That château hosted some of the most lavish parties of the Belle Époque, all within a neo-Louis XIII setting specially designed to complement the collection.
Alice Stern, wife of Maurice Stern (Edgard’s son), brought her own considerable expertise to the family’s collecting activities. She developed real authority on enamels, ceramics, and glass art, assembling a beautiful collection of enamels from the second half of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. Her acquisitions included works by distinguished artists such as Marie Puisoye, Théophile Soyer, Georges Jean, and Suzanne Mansuy, alongside numerous pieces by Émile Gallé, Jean Dunand, Eugène Feuillâtre, and Daum.
Alice’s interest in sculpture from the same period shows in her collection of bronzes, featuring notable works by Aimé-Jules Dalou, René de Saint-Marceaux, and Denys Puech. These acquisitions reflected the broader artistic movements of the Art Nouveau period and her sophisticated understanding of emerging aesthetic trends.
Her uncle, Carle Dreyfus (1873-1952), served as curator at the Louvre Museum and was himself a prominent collector. Alice inherited two significant works by James Tissot (1838-1906) from his collection, pieces that’ll feature prominently in the upcoming sale.
From the Golden Age: Dutch and Flemish Masterworks
The collection’s Dutch and Flemish paintings are some of its most compelling offerings. A still life by Maria Van Oosterwyck (1630-1693) exemplifies the quality and historical significance of these works. Van Oosterwyck was celebrated for the exceptional quality of her compositions, which during her lifetime were included in the collections of Louis XIV, the Emperor in Vienna, and the Royal Collection in London.
Despite her remarkable talent, she faced the gender discrimination typical of her era and was denied entry to the painters’ guild because she was a woman.
As part of the widespread movement to recognise female artists, the Rijksmuseum acquired one of her paintings for €1.3 million in 2023.
Her still life is definitely one to watch among the works offered for sale, carrying an estimate of €100,000 to 150,000. Also worth particular attention is “Un Marché aux poissons au bord d’une rivière,” an oil on canvas painting by Mathys Schoevaerdts.
The collection will also feature prominently in the Old Masters Evening Sale in London on December 2, 2025. Two major works from the Stern collection will be presented as highlights, both remarkable examples of Dutch Golden Age painting.
First is “Vue de Bruxelles” by Jan van Goyen (1596-1656), described as the only known view of the Belgian capital, with an estimate of £100,000 to 150,000. Second is an exceptionally early work by the great landscape artist Jacob van Ruisdael, entitled “Paysage boisé avec chaumières,” estimated at £100,000 to 150,000, painted when the artist was merely twenty years old.
Eighteenth-Century French Excellence
Eighteenth-century French art was one of Edgard Stern’s primary collecting passions. The upcoming sale features a magnificent pair of paintings depicting young girls by François-Hubert Drouais (1727-1775), a perfect example of one of the collection’s key themes, with an estimate of €80,000 to 120,000.
Among the other notable works are paintings by Jean-Baptiste Pater, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, and the circle of François de Troy, alongside a pair of charming little cupid compositions by Jean-Honoré Fragonard.
“The flagship lot of the sale is an impressive pair of views of a water fountain painted by Hubert Robert,” with an estimate of €300,000 to 400,000.
Major drawings are also included, like one in black chalk by Pierre-Paul Prud’hon illustrating one of the scenes from Racine’s “Andromaque,” depicting Andromaque and Astyanax, estimated at €30,000 to 50,000. This work is an exciting rediscovery. It hasn’t been exhibited since the Salon of 1797.
The sale also includes three sheets by François Boucher, including a “Femme nue allongée” in sanguine on paper, estimated at €30,000 to 50,000. This drawing has been subtly enhanced with colored chalk in her hair, and the skin tones are highlighted with white chalk, suggesting it could be a study of a Muse or goddess.
Sculpture and Decorative Arts: Bronze, Terracotta, and Beyond
The sculpture selection illustrates the Stern family’s keen interest in seventeenth and eighteenth-century works, with compositions that are rare to find on the market. Two materials dominate: bronze and terracotta. From France, the collection features works by Michel Anguier and Corneille Van Clève, alongside compositions by François Girardon. Italian works from the late Renaissance and Baroque periods include pieces by the circles of Giambologna, Ferdinando Tacca, and Bernini.
Two exceptional compositions depicting abductions are paired together in the sale. The first features a rare seventeenth-century cast, most likely Florentine, based on Giambologna’s marble sculpture still present under the Loggia dei Lanzi. The second bronze, made in the early eighteenth century, is based on the marble sculpture of “Pluton et Proserpine” by Louis XIV’s sculptor, Girardon, placed in the middle of the Colonnade Grove at Versailles, with an estimate of €200,000 to 300,000.
The collection includes several important provenances. A figure of David by Bernini, estimated at €15,000 to 25,000, comes from the collections of Baroness Roger de Sivry and later Jacques Doucet, who dispersed it in 1912. A signed terracotta satyress joins the small collection of works by Pierre Michel, brother of Clodion, which was previously part of the collection of Eugène Secrétan, estimated at €12,000 to 18,000.
Silver: A Glimpse into Royal Craftsmanship
A substantial section of the sale is devoted to silver, featuring dozens of lots assembled during major historic sales of this speciality in the 1970s and 1980s. The collection offers a magnificent glimpse into the golden age of French goldsmithing, when the finest pieces were coveted and commissioned by all major European courts throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Among the great Parisian goldsmiths being offered at auction is a pot-à-oille, a richly decorated luxury item. This shaped piece is made by Robert-Joseph Auguste (1723-1805), the goldsmith to Kings Louis XV and Louis XVI, with an estimate of €80,000 to 120,000. Its twin is kept in the collections of the Musée Nissim de Camondo in Paris.
A pair of toilet boxes from the Louis XIV period by Léopold Antoine, estimated at €20,000 to 30,000, is also an exceptional lot. The Musée des Arts Décoratifs has one with a smaller diameter but from the same year, 1707 to 1708. Finally, about fifteen items offered in the sale come from the David-Weill donation, like the Louis XV silver sponge box by Claude-Nicolas Delanoy.
Alongside pieces by leading Parisian goldsmiths, the sale also offers a fine selection of items produced in Strasbourg, Nantes, and Lille. In addition to silverware, the sale includes numerous decorative and luxury art objects created at the turn of the eighteenth century. These include clocks and Chinese vases, alongside an important pair of large Chantilly rose jars and covers, estimated at €40,000 to 60,000, and other precious objects, some of which come from the collection of Jacques Doucet.
The furniture selection paints an equally impressive picture of an aristocratic lifestyle. Pieces range from equally prestigious sources, including a Transitional secrétaire à abattant stamped by Roger Vandercruse, known as “Lacroix,” created circa 1760 and sourced from the collection of Sir Richard Wallace, estimated at €40,000 to 60,000.
The sale also features a pair of Louis XVI tazza, created circa 1785 to 1790, attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire and sourced from the collection of Jacques Doucet, estimated at €15,000 to 25,000. Additionally, a Régence table fountain with rocaille ornamentation comes from the collections of the Dukes of Hamilton in Scotland, estimated at €50,000 to 80,000, and a Louis XVI writing table from the collection of the Comte d’Artois, estimated at €12,000 to 18,000.
The Belle Époque and Art Déco: A Modern Vision
The turn of the twentieth century marked the start of the Belle Époque era, and the Sterns became leading figures in the new social life that was taking hold. The sale features two paintings by James Tissot, the Stern family’s most faithful portraitist, which Alice Stern inherited from her uncle, Carle Dreyfus, Curator at the Louvre Museum. These include “Sur la terrasse du château,” estimated at €20,000 to 30,000, and “L’arrivée de la Parisienne à Douvres,” estimated at €15,000 to 25,000.
A collection of paintings by Belle Époque artists, including Kees van Dongen, Raoul Dufy, George Alfred Bottini, Maurice Poirson, and Jules Scalbert, completes this portrait of the new era. With her impeccable taste and extensive knowledge, Alice Stern was thoroughly at ease with the emerging forms of modern art.
She developed authoritative expertise in enamels and glass art, as evidenced by the numerous pieces in her collection by Émile Gallé, estimated at €10,000 to 15,000; Jean Dunand, estimated at €7,000 to 10,000; Eugène Feuillâtre, François Décorchemont, and the beautiful collection of late nineteenth-century enamels signed by Marie Puisoye, Théophile Soyer, George Jean, and Suzanne Lucie Mansuy.
A Collection Marked by History
During World War II, the collection of Edgard and Marguerite Stern suffered greatly from systematic plundering organised by the Nazi regime. Maurice, Alice, and their children managed to flee to New York in 1940, and the family’s residences were emptied by the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg and by the German Embassy. Many of their works were then exhibited at the Jeu de Paume for Hermann Göring before being transferred to Germany or Austria.
At the end of the war, a number of paintings and drawings from the collection of Edgard and his wife were returned to the family thanks to the invaluable work of Rose Valland and the Monuments Men. Some of these recovered works are now offered for sale, carrying with them not only aesthetic value but also profound historical significance as survivors of one of history’s darkest chapters.
An Unrepeatable Opportunity
The upcoming auction is far more than a commercial transaction. It offers collectors, institutions, and enthusiasts a rare opportunity to acquire works that have remained within a single family for generations, pieces that embody artistic excellence and the taste, discrimination, and cultural values of one of Europe’s most distinguished families.
The Stern collection is proof of art’s enduring power to transcend time, connecting past generations with future custodians who will cherish and preserve these masterpieces for years to come.
With public viewing scheduled from December 6 to 11, and the auction itself taking place on December 11, alongside an online sale extending from November 28 to December 12, this is a singular moment in the art market calendar.
The 360 lots spanning three generations of collecting are an unrepeatable opportunity to engage with a collection that has shaped, and been shaped by, more than a century of European cultural history.
*Images: Christie’s
