Ernst Beyeler died last week at the age of 88. The New York Times details the galleries beginnings:

Mr. Beyeler soon began buying undervalued Impressionist and modern works. In one of his biggest coups, he acquired, between 1959 and 1965, a trove of artworks from the Pittsburgh steel baron David G. Thompson, including 100 works by Klee, 90 by Giacometti and hundreds by Cézanne, Monet, Picasso, Braque, Matisse, Miró and others. In 1972 he acquired about 100 works by Kandinsky from the artist’s widow.

Picasso, an admirer of Mr. Beyeler’s catalogs, welcomed him as a visitor and allowed him free rein in selecting works to sell and exhibit. On his first visit, in 1966, he came away with 26 works, one of which, the 1932 painting “Le Sauvetage” (“The Rescue”), he kept for himself. It is now part of the Fondation Beyeler’s collection.

Ernst Beyeler, Top Dealer of Modernist Art, Dies at 88