Eduard Arnhold
Eduard Arnhold (10 June 1849 – 10 August 1925) was a German entrepreneur, coal magnate, art patron and philanthropist from the Arnhold family. Born in Dessau to doctor Adolph Arnhold and Mathilde Arnhold, he grew up with brothers Georg and Max. He made a fortune in the Silesian coal industry and served on the supervisory board of Dresdner Bank. In 1913, Kaiser Wilhelm II appointed him to the Prussian House of Lords. A popular legend says he was offered nobility and refused; this is not proven.
Arnhold was an avid art collector and supporter of artists in Berlin. He befriended Max Liebermann, Arnold Böcklin, Adolph Menzel and Louis Tuaillon, and bought Liebermann’s Parrot Alley (1902) and Manet’s In the Garden of a Villa at Bellevue (1903). He donated Villa Massimo in Rome to Prussia in 1913, creating a cultural institute that still exists today under German administration. The Eduard Arnhold Hilfsfonds foundation continues to fund scholarships for visual artists.
He owned a Wannsee villa, a city apartment and the Hirschfelde manor near Werneuchen, where he turned the park into a sculpture garden with works by contemporary artists and antique pieces. A marble fountain from ancient times was among the pieces. The Arnholds also supported education, founding the Kurt Löwenstein Youth Education Centre in Werftpfuhl for girls.
Arnhold died in 1925 in Neuhaus am Schliersee and was buried at Wannsee beside his wife, Johanna Arnthal. His grave is an honorary site of Berlin. He had a daughter Elisabeth (1883–1952).
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:36 (CET).