- Born
- Died
- Ernst Beyeler was born on July 16, 1921 in Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland. He was married to Hildy Kunz. He died on February 25, 2010 in Riehen, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland.
- SpouseHildy Kunz(July 1948 - 2008) (her death)
- In 1982, he and his wife founded the Beyeler Foundation and commissioned Renzo Piano to design a museum to hold their private collection in Riehen, Switzerland with 220 pieces including Western artists with Impressionism and postwar American paintings and 40 pieces of African and Oceanic art. The Beyeler Museum has 19 galleries with a room for the Picasso pieces and another room for Giacometti pieces.
- In 1971, he founded the Art Basel art fair in Basel, Switzerland.
- In 1966, he acquired 26 pieces of art from Pablo Picasso including "Le Savetage (The Rescue)" which he kept for himself and is now part of the Foundation Beyeler's collection.
- In 1972, he acquired a 100 pieces from Kandinsky's widow.
- From 1959 to 1965, he began collecting and buying Impressionist and modern art masterpieces by 100 pieces by Klee; 90 by Giacometti; and hundreds of Cezanne, Monet, Picasso, Braque, Matisse, Miro and others from Pittsburgh steel baron, David G. Thompson.
- In order to find another good painting, I am still a hunter, which was my pleasure through all these years.
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