Dr Gerald Weisbrod, a Toronto physician, started collecting in the early 1960's. At first, he collected antique furniture and paintings to decorate his home. He then began to purchase Chinese porcelains and works of arts. Early Chinese works of art quickly became a passion leading to the opening of the first Weisbrod gallery in Toronto, in the Spring of 1972. It was a dream come true. A few months later, another of Dr. Weisbrod's dreams came true when his son, Michael, joined him.
Michael was imbued with the same collector's passion as his father. He loved going on buying trips with him, listening to his fatherÍs astute appraisal of all the pieces and people they encountered. To further expand his academic knowledge, Michael studied under the tutelage of the curators at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. During the mid 1970's Michael traveled extensively to Europe and the United States, developing close relationships with a generation of dealers who took him under their wing, passing on their vast experience. He visited major auctions houses, galleries and museums, meeting the leading curators and collectors who personally augmented and enriched his knowledge of Chinese art.
In March of 1977, Dr Gerald Weisbrod and his son Michael opened a gallery on Madison Avenue, in New York City. Michael immediately became a leading dealer. He combined an extensive and well-rounded academic background with the rare gift of having a first-rate aesthetic appreciation of Chinese Works of Art. However, it was his sensitivity to collectors, taught to him by his father, that set him apart and continues to distance him from all other dealers. This sensitivity translated into not holding back his best pieces for himself, but selling them, one collector to another.
In 1982, the noted collector, Earl Morse in his preface to "Spirit and Ritual" The Morse Collection of Ancient Chinese Art exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art said, " My thanks go to Michael Weisbrod whose boldness in acquiring masterworks is seen in the huge camel and foreign rider, the unique pair of Northern Chili warriors and the Wei civil official."
In early 1994 Weisbrod Chinese Art Limited opened at its present location at 36 East 57th Street, New York City . At any given time, visitors are treated to the rare, the historical, the unusual and always the most beautiful of Chinese Art. Each season a new collection is presented in the gallery. Weisbrod publishes informative catalogs which over the decades have attained an international reputation for being rich and rewarding. Leading authorities in their specific fields of early Chinese Art contribute scholarly and enlightening essays and may also guest author the catalog.
A visit to the gallery is more than a step back into time but rather a guided tour led by an energetic, unabashed collector who is just as happy to educate and to enlighten as he is to have you purchase something.
Unfortunately, many of the treasures are hidden away, because, like the true collectors they are the Weisbrod family continually buys and buys and buys so there is never enough room to display all the gallery's treasures. Hence the creation of a virtual gallery. Finally, there is space large enough to display the pieces; even the ones to be bought tomorrow or the next day. No longer will a client miss something because it was tucked away in a cupboard or behind another piece up on a shelf in the storeroom. Equally exciting, clients can see these treasures anytime, anywhere with just a click of the mouse.
One thing is certain, collectors can always count on Gerald and Michael's unflagging desire and expert eye for finding the most desirable of early Chinese objects. The Weisbrod Chinese Art gallery will always be filled with exciting and unique pieces.
The website, don't be surprised if one day Gerald, Michael, or their heir apparent, will be electronically transported into your home so that you can virtually touch and feel their latest discovery or your next acquisition.
Chinese Works of Art from the Weisbrod Family Collections have been purchased by or exhibited in the following institutions.