AoN Collector Spotlight: Wilfried Zeisler

Welcome back to the next installment of our collector spotlight series! This month we invited longtime AoN comrade, Wilfried Zeisler, to share about his work and beginnings as an Art Collector and Curator.

“I like to describe my collection as eclectic as the juxtaposition of an old portrait of European royalty with beautiful collages by Paula Mans, prints by Maurice James Jr, and photographs by Jennifer Sakai and Redeat Wondemu”.

“My collection includes paintings, prints, photography, and decorative arts. I have been fascinated since childhood by the history behind my great-grandfather’s oil portrait which can be considered as one of the first art pieces I was exposed to. The painting was protected from the destruction of World War II by my grandfather who buried it in the woods. It passed the Berlin wall by mail, then traveled to France with my father who packed it on a Vespa, and finally crossed the Atlantic in a container to land in DC 10 years ago when I left Paris to work as a curator for Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens. This story probably nurtured my interest in portraits and the human experiences they reveal. For over ten years I have supported local artists through DC galleries. I like to describe my collection as eclectic as the juxtaposition of an old portrait of European royalty with beautiful collages by Paula Mans, prints by Maurice James Jr, and photographs by Jennifer Sakai and Redeat Wondemu”.

If you’d like to keep up with Wilfried’s artistic endeavors, you can follow him on IG at: @wzeisler