Owner of major art collection
Hildy Beyeler, 86, who joined her husband Ernst Beyeler in building one of Switzerland’s biggest art collections, died Friday at her home in Riehen, near Basel, Switzerland, after a long illness, according to Catherine Schott, a spokeswoman for the internationally renowned Beyeler Foundation museum.
She married Ernst Beyeler in 1948 and became a constant companion in her husband’s art business.
The Beyelers were art dealers who would decorate their home with paintings that they didn’t want to sell.
Artists represented in their collection of about 200 works include Max Ernst, Francis Bacon, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Wassily Kandinsky, Jackson Pollock, Piet Mondrian and Pablo Picasso.
They were involved in founding Art Basel in the 1970s. The exposition has since become the largest international contemporary art fair.
The Beyelers opened a public museum, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Basel in 1997.
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