Beyeler Foundation

The Beyeler Foundation or Fondation Beyeler is an art foundation based in Riehen, near Basel in Switzerland. It cares for the art collection of Hildy and Ernst Beyeler, which includes both modern and traditional pieces. The foundation runs a museum where visitors can see special exhibitions that go along with the main collection, which is not shown to the public all the time.

In 2006, around 340,000 people visited the museum. By 2016, the number of visitors was about 332,000, making it the most visited art museum in Switzerland that year. The museum gets money each year from the areas of Basel City and Basel County, as well as from the local town of Riehen. Big companies such as Bayer AG, Novartis, and the Swiss bank UBS also help support the foundation.

History

Art dealers Ernst Beyeler and Hildy Beyeler created the Beyeler Foundation in 1982. They asked the architect Renzo Piano to design a special museum to show their private art collection. Before opening the museum, they showed their art in Madrid, Berlin, and Sydney. The museum building began construction in 1994 but opened to the public in October 1997 after some delays.

Collection and exhibitions

The Beyeler Foundation opened its doors on October 18, 1997, showing 140 famous modern artworks, including 23 pieces by Picasso. The collection of 400 artworks shows what Hildy and Ernst Beyeler thought was important in 20th-century art, with works from artists like Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Francis Bacon. The paintings are shown with around 25 objects of tribal art from Africa, Oceania, and Alaska. One-third of the space is used for special exhibitions that add to the permanent collection.

In 2007, a big exhibition brought together many important works, including van Gogh's Portrait of Postman Roulin, Lichtenstein's Plus and Minus III, and a large drip painting by Jackson Pollock. The collection keeps growing, especially with artworks made after 1950, like pieces by Louise Bourgeois, Wolfgang Tillmans, and Gerhard Richter. In 2013, a French art collector named Micheline Renard gave several artworks to the museum, including works by Jean Dubuffet, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sam Francis, and Sigmar Polke, which were first shown in 2014.

The garden around the museum also sometimes has special shows. In 1998, artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped 178 trees in the park around the Beyeler Foundation and nearby Berower Park in special fabric for a few weeks.

Selected collection highlights

The Beyeler Foundation's collection includes works by famous artists such as Claude Monet, Paul Klee, Paul Cézanne, and Vincent Van Gogh. These artists are known for their important contributions to modern and traditional art.

Architecture

The museum was designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano and began construction in September 1994 in Berower Park in Riehen. It was built to look like part of the English landscape garden and was designed to feel like a small power plant where visitors could relax. The building has large glass walls that look out over corn fields and vines on the Tüllinger Hills.

The museum’s shape was inspired by the two walls that originally marked the garden’s edges. A red wall made from porphyry brought from Patagonia in South America replaced the old wall. Four long porphyry walls, each 115 meters, form the main structure of the building. A light glass roof lets in gentle light while protecting visitors from too much sun. In 1999, the building was extended by 12 meters, adding more space for exhibitions.

Across from the museum is the late-Baroque Villa Berower, which houses the museum’s administration and a restaurant.

Partners and sponsors

Public Sponsors

• Swiss Confederation
• Municipality of Riehen
• Canton of Basel-City

Major Partners

• Bayer
• Novartis
• UBS

Partners

• accurART
• Basler Kantonalbank
• Fondation BNP Paribas
• Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
• ISS Facility Services
• J. Safra Sarasin
• BLKB: Was morgen zählt
• Hatje Cantz
• Richard Mille