Franz Catzenstein (later Francis Matthiesen) was born into a Jewish family in Hanover, German Empire (now Germany) on 24 July 1897 or 1898. He was the director and owner of the eponymous Matthiesen Gallery in Berlin. In 1933, with the rise of Nazism, he first fled to Zurich, Switzerland and then settled in London, England, where he established the Matthiesen Gallery anew, specialising in European Old Masters, impressionists and twentieth century masters.

Listen to his story here or read the full biography on the BURU database: https://www.buru.org.uk/contributor/francis-matthiesen