Emil Bührle Collection

In the Kunsthaus Zurich
From October 2021

On 9 October 2021, the Chipperfield Building of the Kunsthaus Zurich was opened. In the extension, built according to plans by the British architect David Chipperfield, opposite the first Kunsthaus by Karl Moser from 1910 and the large exhibition hall inaugurated in 1958, the works of the Emil Bührle Collection were shown in their entirety in the rooms designed for them on the 2nd floor.

The prerequisite for the construction was a referendum in the city of Zurich in 2012, in which voters approved 88 million Swiss francs as a municipal contribution to the expansion. The same amount was donated by private individuals, a contribution of 30 million Swiss francs came from the Canton of Zurich.

This first presentation of the Emil Bührle Collection until the beginning of September 2023 aimed to make the outlines and the essence of the collection tangible.

Therefore, the hanging was arranged chronologically (from the Middle Ages to Monet). At the same time, the great masterpieces of Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Classical French Modernism, which form the core of the collection, were placed in the centre. Selected examples linked the Old Masters and the Modern Masters and revealed the collection's character: To be the very personal history of art that Emil Bührle picked out from the entire history of European art.

Extension Kunsthaus Zurich by David Chipperfield Architects at Heimplatz in Zurich, 2023. Photo: Kunsthaus Zurich, Franca Candrian
Insight into the first collection presentation, Chipperfield Building Kunsthaus Zurich, 2nd floor. Photo: Kunsthaus Zurich, Franca Candrian

From 3 November 2023, the Emil Bührle Collection will be presented anew under the curatorial responsibility of the Kunsthaus Zurich, under the title A Future for the Past. The Bührle Collection: Art, Context, War and Conflict. The new presentation is planned for approximately one year.