Eberhard W. Kornfeld

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Eberhard W. Kornfeld (born September 23, 1923 in Basel ) is a Swiss author, art collector and dealer in Bern .

Life

Eberhard W. Kornfeld was born in Basel in 1923 as the son of an interior designer. After completing commercial training with an architect, he volunteered with August Klipstein in Bern , who ran the Gutekunst und Klipstein auction house, which had existed since 1864. After Klipstein's death, he took over the company; it has operated as Galerie Kornfeld since 1951 . Kornfeld made numerous contacts with contemporary artists such as Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall , who became his friends. Kornfeld was also friends with the Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti . He asked him if he would like to accept an honorary doctorate from the University of Bern. Giacometti reluctantly agreed; it was awarded to him in 1965. Kornfeld has a special relationship with the work of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner , of whom he owns numerous works. He played a key role in setting up the Kirchner Museum in Davos . In 2008 he donated a collection of 102 etchings by Rembrandt to the Kunstmuseum Basel .

In addition to the auction activities, the Verlag der Galerie Kornfeld publishes exhibition catalogs from the specialist areas of old and modern graphics from the 15th to the 20th century as well as on artists of the 20th century such as Egon Schiele , Paul Klee , Marc Chagall, Paul Signac and Paul Gauguin .

When the Schwabing art find occupied the national and international press from November 2013 , Kornfeld, who had been in business contact with Cornelius Gurlitt , described the events as media hysteria without precise information. Two standards are measured and warning voices are ignored: Ferdinand Möller is considered a hero and savior of "degenerate" art in Germany, but Hildebrand Gurlitt is demonized for the same act and his legacy is confiscated in 2012.

Awards

Publications

  • Eberhard W. Kornfeld: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner: Tracing his life. Catalog of the Kirchner-Haus Davos collection . Kornfeld Verlag, Bern 1979, ISBN 3-8577-3010-2 .
  • Eberhard W. Kornfeld: Paul Klee: Directory of the graphic work . Kornfeld Verlag, Bern 2005, ISBN 978-3-85773-046-7 .
  • Eberhard W. Kornfeld / Fondation Giacometti: Alberto Giacometti. Catalog raisonne des estampes, Volume I, II. Kornfeld Verlag, Bern 2016, ISBN 978-3-85773-057-3 .

Literature (selection)

  • Christine Ekelhart, Klaus Albrecht Schröder: Ways of Modernity: From the Eberhard W. Kornfeld Collection . Brandstätter, Vienna / Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-85033-264-4 .
  • Gerd Presler : For the first, for the second - for the eightieth. Interview with Eberhard W. Kornfeld, in: WELTKUNST 10/2003, p. 1458
  • Christine E. Stauffer: Festschrift for Eberhard W. Kornfeld on his 80th birthday. Bern 2003
  • Philipp Meier: Life for Art. Eberhard W. Kornfeld is 90 years old. In: NZZ, 23 September 2013, p. 42.

exhibition

  • 2009: Ways of Modernity: From the Eberhard W. Kornfeld Collection , Albertina , Vienna

Web links and sources

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ James Lord: Alberto Giacometti , Knaur, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-426-02385-7 , p. 443
  2. ↑ art.port.co : Paths of Modernity
  3. ↑ Rembrandt's Etchings. Neue Zürcher Zeitung , January 16, 2008, accessed on January 12, 2020 .
  4. ^ Nicole Bröhan: Swiss art collectors and their passion , Scheidegger & Spiess, Zurich 2013, ISBN 978-3-85881-353-4 .
  5. ↑ Eberhard W. Kornfeld: Der Münchner Kunstfund: Eine Medienhysterie. Neue Zürcher Zeitung , November 23, 2013, accessed on June 1, 2014 .
  6. ↑ Eberhard W. Kornfeld: 95 episodes and memories . Stämpfi, Bern 2018, ISBN 3-85773-062-5 , p. 286 .
  7. ↑ Eberhard W. Kornfeld is an honorary citizen of Bern , September 8, 2011, Basler Zeitung


personal data
SURNAME Kornfeld, Eberhard W.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss art dealer and art journalist
DATE OF BIRTH September 23, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Basel