Rudolf Springer

German art dealer and gallery owner who ran the Springer Gallery in Berlin from 1948 to 1998. Springer's contributions to the cultural life of his hometown of Berlin can hardly be overstated. His gallery was the only one that existed continuously between the Berlin Blockade and the fall of the Berlin Wall. For several decades, the Springer Gallery played a crucial role in the artistic exchange between (West) Berlin and the international art world. Many internationally renowned artists were first exhibited in Berlin at the Springer Gallery.

Rudolf Springer came from the large publishing family founded by Julius Springer. He was the son of Julius Springer Jr. and the brother of the New York publisher Bernhard Springer. As a young man, he trained as a technical sales representative. In the 1930s, he worked for the Allianz insurance group. During his military service, his Jewish roots—his great-grandfather Julius had converted to Protestantism—remained undiscovered. In France, Rudolf Springer established contacts with the French Resistance, which earned him considerable recognition after the war.

In 1947, Springer returned to Berlin. Until the summer of 1948, he worked as artistic director and manager of the Gerd Rosen Gallery. In December 1948, he opened his own gallery in his parents' house in Berlin-Zehlendorf, which he moved to Kurfürstendamm in 1950. The gallery found its permanent home in the late 1960s on nearby Fasanenstrasse. It closed its doors there in 1998.

Rudolf Springer was married to the artist Christa Dichgans, his fourth wife, and lived in Berlin-Zehlendorf. A centenarian, he died on 2 June 2009 at age 100.