Althoff St. James’s Hotel & Club is not only a unique venue, but also set to be the best boutique hotels in London. The private art collection enhances the distinctiveness of the hotel and is in line with the elegant design, exclusive fabrics and sophisticated clientele of the hotel.
The individual paintings were chosen on the basis of the original St. James's Club, which amongst the likes of Brooks, used to feature exquisite and rare paintings in their private Gentlemen Clubs. Mainly featuring portraits of key figures of the political and socially high valued members, these art collections also stood out through other rare paintings and sketches, objects and sculptures.
A large proportion of the Rosenstein collection is based on portraits, dated 1920-1950. Including works from the classic, cubism, expressionist and impressionist time, the collection features a broad selection of different techniques, colours and textures. Not only through the self portraits, but also through the wide range of different people from different cultural, religious and social backgrounds, the viewer will get to see the importance of tradition and change at the same time.
Through displaying a number of these portraits together, the various facades of life are being shown to the viewer. Illustrating the history of the European development of the humanism, democracy, equality, brotherliness, freedom, faith, declaration of the human rights, the Weimar Republic, classic, “Bauhaus” and modern art- the Rosenstein collections represents the tradition of the European renaissance