The provenance of this magnificent violin by Guarneri del Gesu can be traced to the early 20th century. Evidently, it has had very few owners, whose scrupulous care and appreciation has left us with one of the best preserved examples of this maker’s highly sought-after and exceedingly rare late period.

According to the diaries of Alfred Hill the violin was in the care of his firm, W.E. Hill & Sons just prior to its acquisition by J. & A. Beare.

In 1932 it was sold by the firm of J. & A. Beare to Albert O. Corbin, a wealthy New York banker who was a notable violin collector. It later passed through the shop of Emil Herrmann to Leo Reisman the most renowned dance band leader of his day. In 1953 it was acquired from Rembert Wurlitzer by the philanthropist Theodore Pitcairn, an heir to the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company fortune. Theodore was an art collector and great supporter of the arts, and this purchase was made for the use of the young violinist Anshel Brusilow. Brusilow was concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy for seven years and put the violin up for sale when he left the orchestra and moved to Dallas to pursue a conducting career.

In June 1969 the Guarneri del Gesu was purchased by its last owner, who like her former teacher, Ivan Galamian, devoted the majority of her life to teaching.