Walter Hugelshofer

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Walter Hugelshofer (born April 1, 1899 in Basel , † October 18, 1987 in Zollikon ) was a Swiss art historian .

Life

Walter Hugelshofer was a son of the typesetter Jakob Hugelshofer and Emma Hugelshofer, nee. Grether. In 1926 he married Alice Reinhart, a daughter of Jakob Reinhart from Winterthur . In the same year he completed his doctorate after studying in Zurich . He then lived as a freelance art historian in Zurich. Hugelshofer published several essays and monographs on art history topics. His work The Master Drawing comprised five volumes, which were published between 1928 and 1946.

Redesign of the Sturzenegger Collection

Hugelshofer played a key role in redesigning the Sturzenegger collection in St. Gallen . Eduard Sturzenegger donated 175 pictures to the city of St. Gallen in 1926. A few years later, after Sturzenegger's death, it was decided to “redesign” this collection. In addition to the politician Konrad Nägeli and the art dealer Fritz Nathan , Hugelshofer was also involved. In 1935 he gave the mayor Nägeli an eight-page report on the collection, in which he described only 35 paintings as "gallery-ready" and recommended that the rest - at that time the catalog of the collection still comprised 168 works - "sell off" in exchange for better pictures to buy. The city council followed Hugelshofer's recommendations to a large extent and Sturzenegger's heirs did not object. This was clearly against the donation agreement, which read: "The collection of paintings as such must be kept together and must not be sold." In 1935 and 1936 large quantities of paintings were sold in galleries and at auctions. Hugelshofer had stated after viewing the works: «The majority [...] can only be used in Munich . Fortunately, there is currently a momentary boom for paintings of this kind. [...] Since this wave of bad taste is likely to subside again in the foreseeable future, it is very advisable to take advantage of this unexpected opportunity - luck in misfortune - unchecked. " This happened and the collection was changed significantly according to Hugelshofer's recommendations.

Publications (selection)

  • Giovanni Giacometti (1936)
  • Swiss minor champions (1943)
  • Ferdinand Hodler (1952)
  • Swiss drawings (1969)

literature

  • Lucas Wüthrich, Daniela Dettwiler-Braun, Bibliography of the art historical literature by Walter Hugelshofer (1899-1987) , in: Journal for Swiss Archeology and Art History = Revue suisse d'art et d'archéologie = Rivista svizzera d'arte e d'archeologia = Journal of Swiss archeology and art history 45, 2, 1988, pp. 139-155

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lucas Wüthrich, Walter Hugelshofer , November 24, 2006, on hls-dhs-dss.ch
  2. ↑ Quoted from: Matthias Wohlgemut, Samuel Reller: Sturzeneggersche Gemäldesammlung in the Art Museum St. Gallen. Provenance research project 2017/18 supported by the Federal Office of Culture. Final report , July 2018, p. 7.
personal data
SURNAME Hugelshofer, Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss art historian and author
DATE OF BIRTH April 1, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Basel
DATE OF DEATH October 18, 1987
Place of death Zollikon