A cosmopolitan banking family whose name has been etched in Europe’s economic history since the 18th century, the Sterns — much like their relatives, the Rothschilds — are renowned collectors, patrons, and philanthropists.

Spanning over a century and three generations, their collection includes works acquired by Edgard Stern (1854–1937), head of the Paris branch of the family bank. He displayed many of these works in his hôtel particulier on Avenue Montaigne and at the Château de Villette, favouring the great 18th-century masters such as Fragonard, Boucher, and Hubert Robert.