The success of the Galerie Beyeler, which led Hildy and Ernst Beyeler to found the Fondation Beyeler, began sixty years ago. Around sixteen thousand paintings, sculptures, and works on paper—not including prints and editions—passed through Bäumleingasse 9, where the Beyelers took over a second-hand bookstore in 1945. The transformation into a gallery was complete by 1947, and the address in Basel remains unchanged to this day.
Out of this overwhelming number of works, an exemplary selection of masterpieces—which have long since found their way into the great public and private collections of the world—can once again be seen together, making it possible to understand the personal view and special preferences of this collector-couple. Among the highlights are splendid works by Bonnard, Braque, Cézanne, Dubuffet, Gauguin, Giacometti, Gris, Kandinsky, Klee, Léger, Miró, Mondrian, Monet, Picasso, and van Gogh. The volume is both an homage to a life's work and a portrait of a brilliant art dealer, to whom we owe our thanks for providing an ideal setting for personal encounters with art. (German edition ISBN 978-3-7757-2022-9; French edition ISBN 978-3-7757-2024-3)
 

Exhibition schedule: Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, August 19, 2007-January 6, 2008