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Galerie Kornfeld is a privately owned Swiss auction house in Berne and one of the leading auction houses in Switzerland in the fields of Modern Art (paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures) as well as Old Master prints and drawings.
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History
Heinrich Georg Gutekunst opened his gallery for Old and Modern Art in Stuttgart on the 1st of October 1864 and established the basis for a tradition, which remains unbroken until today and to which, since 1919 in Berne, the vital activities of Galerie Kornfeld can be traced back. The first auction series took place in Stuttgart from 1868 to 1914. His son Richard Gutekunst opened a gallery in 1895 under the name Richard Gutekunst. When HG Gutekunst retired in 1910 Wilhelm A. Gaiser took over the firm until 1914. After the World War I Richard Gutekunst reopened the gallery in Berne together with August Klipstein. Richard Gutekunst retired in 1934 and Eberhard W. Kornfeld took over when August Klipstein died in 1951. The gallery’s name changed from Klipstein & Kornfeld, to Kornfeld & Klipstein and finally to Galerie Kornfeld.
Locations
Galerie Kornfeld has its headquarters in the historic Villa Thurmau at Laupenstrasse 41 in Berne. The large sales room pavilion which can accommodate more than 300 auction guests is embedded in a garden laid out in the middle of the nineteenth century. The Zurich office lays in an old villa at Titlisstrasse 48.
Auction sales
The main activities focus lays on the annual auction series conducted during the course of several days in June to coincide with ART Basel. It represents a lively social event that attracts collectors, museum curators and art lovers from all over the world. Specialist areas include Modern Art, Old Master Prints, Swiss Art and Contemporary Art
Art Dealing and Gallery
Galerie Kornfeld works also throughout the year as classic art gallery, sells from a wide stock art works, occasionally buys art directly and conducts private art deals as well. Usually in autumn and winter up to three exhibitions are organised in the premises.
Publishing
Next to the auction series and art dealing the experts at Galerie Kornfeld work on publishing comprehensive catalogues raisonné of renown artists like Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Max Beckmann, Paul Klee, Käthe Kollwitz, Paul Gauguin, Pablo Picasso and Alberto Giacometti.
Managing Partners
Eberhard W. Kornfeld
Christine E. Stauffer
Bernhard U. Bischoff
Jürg Kunz