Paris, France — It is a world of its very own. An unmistakeable place of taste and refinement. A place frequented by prestigious clients from around the world ranging from the Rothschilds to the Rockefellers with J.Paul Getty, Henry Ford II and Jackie Kennedy all dropping by to buy along the way. The Galerie Kraemer, one of the oldest and most prestigious of the Parisian galleries, is 150-years old this year and is celebrating in style with an exhibition entitled A History of French Taste -Past, Present and Future. The show travels through the evolution of French taste from the Golden Age of French furniture in the 18th century to the present day showcasing more than 100 works of art and furniture brought together through the generations by the Kraemer family since the gallery’s founding in 1875 by Lucien Kraemer who had left Alsace for Paris following the region’s occupantion by Prussian forces. He chose to remain French. The family-owned gallery is known for its museum-quality antiques, objects, art and furnishings. 

Among the outstanding pieces on display are two egg-cups by the Sèvres manufacture made for Marie-Antoinette in 1781 along with an exceptional travelling secrétaire in marquetry and veneer by the eminent 18th century ébéniste Jean- Francois Oeben. But the exhibition juxtaposes the old with the new through décors bringing together 18th century furniture with contemporary artists like Pierre Soulages and Sam Falls. “As we celebrate 150 years of existence, we want to demonstrate that French taste continues to resonate today. With the right setting, an 18th-century piece of furniture reveals its timeless relevance – it possesses the quiet authority to inhabit a New York loft as naturally as a classical interior, ”  commented Laurent Kraemer, the current director of the Galerie Kraemer. 

It was back in 1875, that Lucien Kraemer founded Galerie Kraemer and specialised in French 18th century decorative arts, prized by the international elite of the time. Initially located on Rue de Penthièvre, the gallery moved to the corner of Place de la Madeleine and Rue Tronchet in 1880. In 1928, it settled into its current home: a delightful townhouse in Paris’s affluent 8th arrondissement, near Parc Monceau which still today welcomes collectors and visitors from all over the world. Raymond Kraemer incarnated the second generation to mind the shop which was looted by the Nazis in 1942. Little by little he rebuilt the gallery with his son Philippe. «Even if each room contains no more than one or two pieces of furniture, they will all be outstanding,»commented Raymond Kraemer at the time. 

Philippe Kraemer was followed by his sons Olivier and Laurent in the early 1970s. Sandra (Laurent’s daughter), Mikael and Alain (Olivier’s sons) are the next generation of Kraemers to be at the helm and have embarked on a mission to host a creative program of exhibitions both in the townhouse and in partnership with institutions, museums and foundations in France and abroad. The Galerie Kraemer townhouse is open to the public and the French Taste exhibition is on until March 28th. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette

Galerie Kraemer, 43 rue Monceau, 75008 Paris, France. Tel: +33 (0)1 45 63 24 46. https://www.kraemer.fr/en/