Rainer Schuster was able to fulfil a very personal childhood dream by studying art history. Already familiar with the various aspects of art in the south of Germany from his youth, he was able to deepen his knowledge – especially of 17^th and 18^th century painting – under Prof. Hermann Bauer. Schuster concluded his study of art history in Munich and Vienna with a dissertation on the Bavarian copperplate engraver Michael Wening. Immediately after gaining his doctorate he began a three-year internship at the Bavarian Administration of State-owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes.

In 1998, he moved to NEUMEISTER, initially as an expert on prints, works on paper and books and, from 2003 onwards, for Old Masters and 19^th and early 20^th-century artists. Since January 2011 Rainer Schuster has headed our core segment FINE ART and is available for valuations of prints, works on paper and paintings from the 15^th to the early 20^th century. Thanks to his extensive art-historical knowledge, numerous objects, originally consigned as works of unknown masters, have already been accurately attributed to specific artists, as in the case of an important drawing by Friedrich Sustris of a design for St. Michael’s Church in Munich. The highly acclaimed catalogue for our special auction of 21 works by Adolph von Menzel in 2012, compiled by Rainer Schuster, is not only further evidence of his expert knowledge but also of his ability to convey his own enthusiasm for art to our customers. 

Barbara Huber works in the FINE ART department where she is responsible for paintings and prints up until the early 20^th century. She checks the authenticity and provenance of items, working closely in her research and cataloguing with the head of the FINE ART department, Dr. Rainer Schuster. Since 2008 Barbara Huber has also been working as an auctioneer, selling the artworks she has verified and catalogued herself to the highest bidder.

Barbara Huber studied art history in Munich, Siena and Venice, initially focussing entirely on the history of architecture. Even during her studies she worked in the Architecture Museum in the Pinakothek der Moderne and was involved in organising and curating the exhibition ‘Architektur der Wunderkinder’. After an internship at another Munich auctioneers’ and freelancing for the art market magazine ARTinvestor she oriented herself on the auction market. Her excellent knowledge of Italian has made Barbara Huber the preferita assoluta for many NEUMEISTER clients south of the Alps who hold the auction house in high esteem with regard both to the purchase as well as the sale of artworks and antiques.