By Eliane Engeler
Associated Press
Associated Press
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Ernst Beyeler, 88, whose early eye for undervalued Picassos and Impressionists helped him assemble one of Europe’s most famous art collections, died Feb. 25 at his home near Basel, Switzerland. No cause of death was reported.
Mr. Beyeler became a widely respected art patron after World War II by acquiring hundreds of works by Pablo Picasso, Paul Cezanne, Claude Monet, Henri Matisse and others. He presented them to the public in his Basel gallery and later in the foundation he founded near the German border.
His art collection grew to be worth at least $1.85 billion, thanks to his taste for quality and his personal connections with artists such as Georges Braque, Marc Chagall and Alberto Giacometti. He also was a friend of Picasso’s.
“Art must touch you and leave a strong visual and mental impression upon you,” Mr. Beyeler once told the Swiss weekly magazine NZZ Folio.