In the early years Jacques Seligmann & Co. focused on the purchase and sales of decorative art related to Byzantine and Renaissance periods to satisfy the trends of the time. At the turn of the century, as tastes evolved, so did the gallery's inventory. World War I caused a lapse in sales in Europe, but interest in the United States was high specifically in modern art and Impressionism. After the war sales resumed in Europe and Germain started to sell works by Pierre Bonnard, Honoré Daumier, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, and other modern masters. Other members of the family disapproved of Germain's modern interests, and he eventually formed a subsidiary, International Contemporary Art Company, Inc., along with business partner César Mange de Hauke. The name changed to de Hauke & Company, as de Hauke was named director, and it focused on contemporary European art. Purchases were made in Paris and London and sales were primarily in the United States. The sales of these contemporary works were sold as inventory through Jacques Seligmann & Co. or privately by de Hauke's company. A complicated process regarding commission and ownership, a space was provided for de Hauke & Co. in the New York gallery where Jacques Seligmann & Co. was headquartered, now at 3 E. 51st St. During the late 1920s de Hauke exhibited the work of the French School in New York, his favorites leaning towards drawings and watercolors. His exhibitions frequently showed work by Paul Cézanne, Eugène Delacroix, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Jean Ingres and Georges Seurat. Pablo Picasso was featured twice, first in 1936 with paintings from the Blue Period and the Rose Period, and second in the November 1937 exhibition "Twenty Years in the Evolution of Picasso" which showcased the painting "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" which Seligman had acquired from the Jacques Doucet estate. The Museum of Modern Art acquired the painting for $24,000 raising $18,000 toward the purchase price by selling a Degas painting and obtaining the remainder from donations by the co-owners of the gallery Germain Seligman and Cesar de Hauke. The success of de Hauke & Co. changed the attitudes of the Seligmann family in regard to their interest in modern art sales and eventually de Hauke & Co. was renamed Modern Paintings, Inc. De Hauke was named director but tensions arose and by 1931 he had resigned and moved back to Paris.