Schaus, Carl Wilhelm Friederich

Carl Wilhelm Friederich Schaus (July 4, 1821 - December, 29 1892), generally known as William Schaus, was a German-American art dealer and print maker active in the middle to late 19th century. He was born in Nassau, Deggendorf, Bayern, Germany. Schaus began his career in Paris with the established 'Goupil, Vibert et Cie.' Around 1857, Schaus was sent to New York to establish an American branch of the French firm as well as to set up an International Art Union to compete with the powerful American Art Union. Schaus, with his considerable experience and support from abroad, was able to lure several important artists away from the American Art Union. This helped him to develop an impressive portfolio of artists and prints. In the early 1860 Schaus split with Goupil Vilbert to establish his own offices at 629 Broadway, in New York City. By the late 1860s he was the most powerful art dealer in New York, they type 'who only met the richest classes' (Democrat and Chronical, January 7, 1893). He was the first to import a genuine Rembrandt, The Gilder to the United States. He also issued a varied corpus of works that included maps, views, art prints, and illustrations. He retired in March of 1892, leaving his business to his son, Hermann Schaus and partner A. W. Conover. His vast personal art collection sold at auction in May of 1892. His daughter, Mabel Schaus (1865 - 1900) was involved in a romantic scandal that rocked New York social life when she eloped with a married man 'Stillman', who ironically died a year later. He died in December of that year. Another of Schaus's sons, William Schaus Jr. (1858 - 1942) was a famous entomologist. Schaus is interred in New York's Greenwood Cemetery.