Picasso, Klee, Matisse, Giacometti: The Eye of Collector-Dealer Heinz Berggruen

Berggruen's collection, which includes over one hundred masterpieces, stands as a remarkable testament to his vision and influence in the Paris art market during the latter half of the twentieth century. Born in Berlin in 1914 into a Jewish family, he fled to California just before World War II. In California, he worked as an art critic for the San Francisco Chronicle and served as an assistant to the director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). After the war, he returned to Europe, initially settling in Munich as a journalist, then moving to Paris, where he worked at UNESCO before transitioning into a career as an art dealer specializing in modern artists’ graphic works.

Through his deepening connections in Paris, Berggruen met the artists he would represent, as well as poets, critics, dealers, and historians. Guided by his own aesthetic preferences, he curated a substantial collection of twentieth-century art, now displayed at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. The collection spans the works of Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, Henri Matisse (including his collages), and Alberto Giacometti’s sculptures. This extensive collection was showcased at the Orangerie in 2024 and is currently housed in the Berggruen Museum/Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin.