Beyeler Foundation

The Beyeler Foundation owns and oversees the art collection of Hildy (1922-2008) and Ernst (1921-2010) Beyeler. In 1982 they commissioned Renzo Piano to design a museum to house their private collection. By building Renzo Piano's museum structure in 1997, the Beyeler Foundation made its collection permanently accessible to the public.

The Beyeler Foundation presents 140 works of modern classics, including 23 Picassos. The overall collection of 200 works of classic modernism highlight features typical of the period from Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh to Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Francis Bacon. The paintings appear alongside some 25 objects of tribal art from Africa, Oceania and Alaska. A third of the exhibition space is reserved for special exhibitions staged to complement the permanent collection.

The culmination of Beyeler's career came in 2007 when all the works that passed through his hands were reunited at the museum for a grand exhibition that included van Gogh's 1889 Portrait of Postman Roulin, Lichtenstein's Plus and Minus III and a huge expressive drip painting by Jackson Pollock. The collection is expanding, particularly in terms of works made after 1950 (recent acquisitions include pieces by Louise Bourgeois and Wolfgang Tillmans).

Situated adjacent to the museum building, the late-Baroque Villa Berower houses the museum's administration department and a restaurant.

References:

• Wikipedia