Ludwig Nissen

Ludwig Nissen (December2, 1855October26, 1924) was a New York gemstone dealer and philanthropist. He lived in Brooklyn for many years and was well known in the Brooklyn community, particularly for the lavish mansion he built on St. Mark's Avenue. He is also known for founding the Nordsee Museum in Husum, Germany.

Early life and career Childhood in Husum (1855–1872) Nissen was born on December 2, 1855, in Husum, then Denmark, the sixth of ten children born to ropemaker Hans Friedrich Nissen (1821–1887) and his wife Lucie Catherine Dawartz (1822–1898). After grade school, Nissen worked as a clerk at the local court On September 11, 1872, Nissen arrived at his new home. Portraits from the period show a confident young man who, despite his small-town background, was able to make his way in New York. Certainly his older brother Fritz was helpful to him at first. Fritz had already arrived in New York on the Harmonia in August 1869. He then worked at a hotel, as a shoe shiner, waiter, cashier, and accountant, before eventually opening a German restaurant with a man from Hamburg. Nissen got his American citizenship in 1879, and sold the restaurant to become a merchant. This dinner was "in recognition of the exceptional and eventful services rendered by him in various national and local fields of business, social, philanthropic, public and patriotic endeavor". The mansion cost $250,000. The completed mansion was lavishly furnished and decorated with many expensive artworks, most of which are now in the museum in Husum that Nissen's estate funded. The stately three-story building contained both stables for horses (Nissen was an avid horseman) and car garages, as well as a bowling alley in the basement. Brooklyn Life magazine described the mansion as "one of the most beautiful homes on this famous street of show houses". He established the town of Husum as heir to his fortune of 2.5million Deutsche Marks, and dictated in his will that his legacy was intended primarily for the construction of the museum and related cultural purposes. Even before his death, Nissen had donated a large number of valuable museum pieces for this "people's house", which had previously been housed in the offices of Husum Castle.

On December 29, 1930, Nissen's widow Kathie succumbed to a stroke. From her estate, she gave the town of Husum $170,000, so the total inheritance for the city from the Nissens was 3million Deutsche Marks. Thus, Ludwig Nissen's testamentary plans in Husum could be realized.

Nissen's art collection consisted of artists from several European countries as well as from America, and also contained paintings and embroideries by his wife. The artworks are generally of classic motifs: still lifes, animal portraits, and so forth. In 1923, he acquired part of the estate of Elisabeth Vilma Lwoff-Parlaghy at auction, already thinking about his future museum.

Artists in Ludwig Nissen's collection