In 1873, on the death of his elder brother Michael, Siegfried Bing became the head of Bing family enterprises in France. Bing developed a flourishing import-export business from the 1870s onward, working through several commercial entities with various partners and family members; he concentrated on the importation and sale of Japanese and other Asian ''objets d'art,'' though his business also exported French goods to Japan, working through a
Yokohama office managed by his younger brother August. In December 1895 he opened his famous gallery, the
Maison de l'Art Nouveau, which showed works of artists of what would become known as the
Art Nouveau style.
Henry van de Velde designed the interior of the gallery, while
Louis Comfort Tiffany supplied stained glass. Bing's gallery featured entire rooms designed in the Art Nouveau style by his in-house designers. During the gallery's most successful period, 1896–1902, Bing sold a great variety of artistic work, included fabrics designed by
William Morris, glassware by
Louis Comfort Tiffany, jewelry, paintings, ceramics, stained glass, and furniture of Art Nouveau style. Bing dealt with customers ranging from private collectors to major museums, and helped to promote a global
art market. His pavilion at the 1900 Paris World's Fair was especially notable. By this time Bing was the primary European dealer for the
Rookwood Pottery Co. of
Cincinnati and the
Grueby Faience Company of
Boston, as well as the wares of Tiffany. Bing had also a significant role in promoting artists who were associated in the new style movement named
Les Nabis, including
Pierre Bonnard,
Édouard Vuillard,
Maurice Denis,
Paul Sérusier,
Paul Ranson and
Félix Vallotton. ==Influence==