The Galerie Beyeler is Closing:

Ernst Beyeler was one of the most successful art dealers of our time. He was legendary for his high quality standards and for his exceptional eye. He knew many important twentieth-century artists personally and was thus allowed to select works directly from Pablo Picasso’s studio in Mougins. He was also a friend of Jean Dubuffet, Francis Bacon, Alberto Giacometti, Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, Mark Tobey, and Roy Lichtenstein. Over a period of 65 years, Ernst Beyeler organized more than 300 exhibitions in his gallery in the Baumleingasse, at which he showed works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Fernand Leger, Marc Chagall, Vassily Kandinsky, Claude Monet, Paul Klee, Piet Mondrian, Alberto Giacometti, Joan Miro, Alexander Calder, Jean Art, Jean Dubuffet, Mark Tobey, Mark Rothko, Francis Bacon, Roy Lichtenstein, George Baselitz, and many other leading artists.

Ernst Beyeler’s carefully designed gallery catalogues and books about artists are well-known and highly esteemed in art circles. In 1987 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Basel and in 1998 he became a knight of France’s Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur

In 1970 Ernst Beyeler was a co-founder of the international art fair Art Basel and belonged to its committee for many years. He played a major role in establishing it as the world’s leading art fair. Together with his wife Hildy, Ernst Beyeler built up one of the world’s greatest collections of modern art. In 1982, Ernst Beyeler transferred ownership of the collection to the Beyeler Foundation. In 1997, Ernst and Hildy Beyeler opened the collection to the public in a museum (the Foundation Beyeler in Riehen/Basel) designed by Renzo Piano. The purpose of the Foundation is to promote the general public’s interest in modern art and to make art attractive to young people. The Foundation Beyeler is continuing the life work of Ernst and Hildy Beyeler.

The auctions at Christie’s London will take place as follows:

Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale 21 June 2011, 7 pm

Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale 22 June 2011, 10 am and 2 pm

Further information available from www.christies.com

http://www.fondationbeyeler.ch/en/Museum/History

G A L E R I E B E Y E L E R AG Baumleingasse 9, CH-4001 Basel, Tel + 41 61 206 97 19, mail@galeriebeyeler.com