Edward Michael Behrens (15 September 1911 – 28 January 1989) was a British

financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of property. Types of in ...

, banker,

stockbroker A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and ...

, and restaurant and gallery owner, who became co-owner of the

Ionian Bank The Ionian Bank was a bank of issue established in 1839 in London to operate in the United States of the Ionian Islands, which was then a British protectorate. The bank moved its head office in Greece from Corfu (city), Corfu to Athens in 1873, ...

. Through his ownership of the

Hanover Gallery The Hanover Gallery was an art gallery in London. It was opened in June 1948 by the German art expert Erica Brausen and financier and art collector Arthur Jeffress at 32A St. George's Street, W1, and closed on 31 March 1973. It was named after ...

, he was an early patron of the artist

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

Early life

Edward Michael Behrens was born on 15 September 1911,https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVZ4-4CXL in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, London. His parents were Noel Edward Behrens (1879–1967), a civil servant until his retirement in 1921 and then a banker, and his wife, Catherine Vivien Coward (1880–1961), the daughter of Sir Cecil Coward (1845–1938). Behrens's elder sister Betty Behrens became an historian and academic.

Career

In 1953, Behrens already owned La Resèrve restaurant. He bought the "influential"

from

Arthur Jeffress Arthur Tilden Jeffress (21 November 1905 – 21 September 1961) was an influential gallery owner, collector, and patron of the arts in post-World War II Britain. In the 1920s and 1930s he was conspicuous mostly as a rich playboy and socialite. ...

. The gallery had been representing

, who had his first solo show there in 1949. It continued to represent him until 1958 when Bacon left for the

Marlborough Gallery Marlborough Fine Art was founded in London in 1946 by Frank Lloyd and Harry Fischer. In 1963, a gallery was opened as Marlborough-Gerson in Manhattan, New York, at the Fuller Building on Madison Avenue and 57th Street, which later relocated in ...

. Behrens was visiting the empty gallery for the first time one evening when

Erica Brausen Erica Brausen (31 January 1908 – 16 December 1992), was an art dealer and gallerist who established the Hanover Gallery in London in 1948. She was an early champion of several influential contemporary artists, most notably Francis Bacon (artist ...

, who ran it, mentioned in passing that she would be closing operations the next day. Behrens was "immediately fascinated" by Bacon's work, and offered to help keep the gallery open. Jeffress "detested" Bacon, which was his chief reason to leave the Hanover Gallery. Jeffress reportedly thought that Behrens also "loathed" Bacon. In 1958, Behrens and John Trusted, both stockbrokers at the time and directors of the

British Bank for Foreign Trade British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

, acquired the long-established

, which had operated in the Greek islands. Ionian Bank became "a leader in North Sea oil".

Personal life

In 1936, Behrens married Helen Constance Felicity Arnold (1913–2001). Their three sons included

Timothy Behrens Timothy John Behrens (2 June 1937 – 2017) was a British painter who spent most of his professional life as a painter and a writer abroad, in Greece, Italy, and Spain. Early life Timothy John Behrens was born in London on 2 June 1937, the so ...

, who became an artist. Although Behrens had bought the

, he was not happy with his son's wish to pursue an artistic career. The family lived at 8

Hanover Terrace Hanover Terrace overlooks Regent's Park in City of Westminster, London, England. The terrace is a Grade I listed building. History It was designed by John Nash in 1822. It has a centre and two wing buildings, of the Doric order, the acroterion, ...

, overlooking Regent's Park. In 1949 Behrens bought Culham Court, a large house in Berkshire on the river Thames. After his death, Felicity lived there until 1996. Behrens had an affair with novelist

Elizabeth Jane Howard Elizabeth Jane Howard (26 March 1923 – 2 January 2014), was an English novelist. She wrote 12 novels including the best-selling series ''The'' ''Cazalet Chronicle''. Early life Howard's father was Major David Liddon Howard (1896–1958), a ...

in the late 1940s. She modelled the protagonist in her novel ''The Long View'' (1956) on him. In addition to his restaurant and gallery holdings, Behrens was patron to silver and goldsmith

Gerald Benney Gerald Adrian Sallis Benney CBE (21 April 1930 – 26 June 2008) was a British silver and goldsmith who along with David Mellor and Robert Welch popularised stainless steel designs in post-war British homes. Like Mellor and Welch he was influen ...

Death

Behrens died in London on 28 January 1989, at the age of 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Behrens, Michael 1911 births 1989 deaths Bankers from London People from Kensington 20th-century English businesspeople