Reisinger, Hugo

Merchant, patron of the arts

born: 29.01.1856 in Wiesbaden

died: 27.09.1914 in Bad Schwalbach

Reisinger, son of Franz Reisinger, underwent commercial training in Germany, England and the USA. In 1883, he went to America on behalf of Siemens-Glaswerke in Dresden. He stayed in various cities in both the USA and Canada until he finally settled in New York in 1886 and founded an export-import company. In 1890, he married a wealthy daughter of Adolphus Busch, the co-founder of the Anheuser-Busch brewery. As his mother's niece, she was also his cousin.

In addition to his business activities, Reisinger was an art collector and patron of the arts. He organized and financed exhibitions of German art in New York, Boston and Chicago as well as American art in Berlin and Munich. The "Busch Reisinger Museum" in Boston was established on his and his father-in-law's initiative.

In 1913, he donated 25,000 dollars for a fountain in front of Wiesbaden's main railway station. With the help of this donation and the money raised over the years by the Wiesbaden "Reisinger Foundation", construction could finally begin in 1931. The focal point of the Reisinger and Herbert facilities, which were inaugurated in 1932, is a series of jumping jets of water, which were intended as a symbol of Wiesbaden's healing springs.

Reisinger was a commendable mediator in the cultural exchange between Germany and the USA. He died during a stay at the "Villa Lilly" residence built by his father-in-law in Lindschied near Bad Schwalbach.