Collector-Driven Museums

Modern Art Notes introduced this concept of museums created to house single collections and how they are different from large institutions (see post on August 19). Another such museum I never knew about is the Sammlung Rosengart in Lucerne, Switzerland. An article by Alan Riding on the father-daughter team that created the collection ran in the New York Times (On a Swiss Lake, a Father-Daughter Art Dream Lives, September 1); if you cannot access their Web site, it was also carried today in the International Herald Tribune (Family Collection Testifies to Artistic Ties that Bind). Angela Rosengart (shown to the left as drawn in a lithograph by Picasso in 1964) continued the work of her art dealer father, Siegfried Rosengart, collecting art for their apartment in Lucerne. Partly because of personal friendships with Paul Klee and, through the Parisian art dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Pablo Picasso, their collection is now strong in the works of both artists. After her father's death, Frau Rosengart purchased and renovated a modern neoclassical building in Lucerne built originally for the Swiss National Bank. (The Rosengarts had already donated a large number of Picassos from their private collection to the city of Lucerne, which are shown at the city's little Picasso-Museum.) According to an article in Schott-Glas magazine (How Miró Came to "Mirogard" by Inge Keller-Höll), since her apartment is now devoid of her beloved collection, Frau Rosengart walks through the museum every day, often guiding visitors and speaking about the works in the museum.

Also, thanks to Michael and Friedrich of 2Blowhards for mentioning and linking to Ionarts. I will always endeavor to live up to their exaggerated review of Ionarts as "high-end, civilized blogging."