Ernst Beyeler

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Ernst Beyeler (born July 16, 1921 in Basel ; † February 25, 2010 in Riehen ) was a Swiss gallery owner , art collector and museum founder. He was one of the most famous figures in the international art trade in the second half of the 20th century.

Life

Ernst Beyeler-Kunz (1921–2010) art dealer, gallery owner, Beyeler Foundation, Fondation Beyeler, grave in the Hörnli cemetery, Riehen, Basel-Stadt
Grave, cemetery on Hörnli , Riehen, Basel-Stadt

In addition to studying economics and art history at the University of Basel , the son of a railway clerk worked as a temporary worker at the antiquarian bookshop "La Librairie du Château d'Art" at Bäumleingasse 9 in Basel in 1940. In 1945, after the death of the owner Oscar Schloss, who emigrated from Germany, he was able to take over the antiquarian bookshop (books, but also graphics). In 1947 he exhibited art in these rooms for the first time, Japanese woodcuts . This is considered to be the beginning of his gallery activity. Since 1951 there were continuous exhibitions with a focus on classical modern - more than 200 to the 60th anniversary of the gallery in 2007. Already in 1952 the breakthrough with the acquisition of the collection of the banker he succeeded G. David Thompson from Pittsburgh. Beyeler was on friendly terms with many artists whose works he showed and sold, especially Pablo Picasso , who in 1966 gave him a free choice of 29 works from his studio holdings. Right from the start he attached great importance to the publication of beautifully designed sales catalogs; the production was carried out by the Basilius press of the publisher and art collector Rudolf Indlekofer .

In 1970 Beyeler was co-founder and until 1992 co-organizer of the international art fair Art Basel . He became the administrator of the artistic estate of Wassily Kandinsky .

Beyeler Foundation

In 1984 he and his wife Hildy (1922–2008) established the Beyeler Foundation, the aim of which is to maintain and present their own collections of works of classical modernism as well as African and oceanic art . The collection has been on display in the Museum of the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen near Basel since 1997 . Its construction began in 1994, and because of its architecture by Renzo Piano , the presentation of the works and its integration into the surrounding landscape , it is now one of the most beautiful museums in the world. In 2009, Ernst Beyeler handed over the chairmanship of the Board of Trustees to Hansjörg Wyss , Georg Krayer became President of the Administrative Board and Sam Keller became director of the museum.

Beyeler not only looked after his museum, but over the years also stimulated highly regarded exhibitions in other houses, including the Kunstmuseum Basel and the Museum of Modern Art New York. In 2001 he and his wife founded the Art for the Tropical Forest Foundation .

In 1985 Beyeler was awarded the French order Chevalier de l ' Ordre des Arts et des Lettres , in 1987 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Basel and in 1998 the French order Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur .

On January 12, 2008, he won the SwissAward in the culture category.

Ernst Beyeler died on February 25, 2010 at the age of 89. The Beyelers had decreed in their will: After their death, the gallery's holdings were to be auctioned for the benefit of the museum in Riehen. 109 works were offered at an auction in June 2011 at Christie's in London, 104 of which were sold.

Filmography

  • Art dealer Ernst Beyeler. Documentation, Switzerland, France, 2007, 66 min., Director: Thomas Isler, production: arte , first broadcast: October 15, 2007, discussion of art
  • A life for art - the Swiss gallery owner Ernst Beyeler. Documentation, Germany, 30 min., Script and direction: Ute Hoffarth, production: SWR , first broadcast: December 20, 2003
  • Love - passion - perfection. The treasures of the collector Ernst Beyeler. Film portrait CH 1997, directed by Edith Jud (various TV programs)

literature

  • Pascale Zoller: Beyeler, Ernst. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  • Esther Keller : Ernst Beyeler: Moved by art . Friedrich Reinhardt Verlag, Basel 2014, ISBN 978-3-7245-1993-5 .
  • Ernst Beyeler: Passionate about art . Conversations with Christophe Mory. (Original title: La passion de l'art. Translated from the French by Annalisa Viviani), Scheidegger & Spiess, Zurich 2005, ISBN 978-3-85881-171-4
  • Hans-Joachim Müller: Ernst Beyeler. Art dealer, collector, museum founder . Opinio, Basel 2001, ISBN 3-03999-013-6
  • Tilo Richter: In the nicest back room. After six decades, the famous Beyeler art dealer in Basel has closed: A brief history of the gallery and its owner . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. January 7, 2012 ( PDF ).
  • Gerd Presler: "Why are painters difficult people, Mr. Beyeler?" In: FAZ magazine. November 1, 1991, pp. 114f.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Fondation Beyeler History
  2. ↑ Fondation Beyeler achieves 67 million francs at auction , bazonline.ch, June 22, 2011, accessed on February 3, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Beyeler, Ernst
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss gallery owner, art collector and museum founder
DATE OF BIRTH July 16, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Basel
DATE OF DEATH February 25, 2010
Place of death Riehen