Max Michaelis

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Sir Maximilian Michaelis (11 May 1852 Eisfeld, Germany - 28 January 1932, London) was a financier, mining magnate and patron of the arts.

Michaelis received his early schooling in Nuremberg where he is said to have developed his love of old masters.

His first arrival in South Africa dates back to 1876 when he landed at Port Elizabeth. Two years later he had moved to Kimberley, drawn by the 1871 discovery of diamonds and the prospect of wealth. Within some years he had become manager of the Central Mining and Investment Corporation in Johannesburg. From 1896 he worked at the Corporation's offices in London and remained there until 1919, when he returned to South Africa. In 1913 he presented a collection of Dutch and Flemish old masters to the Union government, a gift leading to his being knighted. These formed the basis of the Michaelis Collection and were housed in the Old Town House in Cape Town. These works had been collected by Lady Phillips (wife of Sir Lionel Phillips, Bt) and Sir Hugh Lane. In 1923 he funded the creation of the Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town and in return was rewarded with an honorary LL.D. He also donated a large number of art works to museums in Kimberley and Johannesburg.

Lady Michaelis, who returned to England on the death of Max Michaelis, presented large collections of art to the National Art Gallery in Cape Town and to Pretoria, with further gifts to the Michaelis Collection in Cape Town. Moses Kottler created a bronze bust of Sir Max, which was placed in the garden of the Old Town House in Cape Town.