Städel director
Art historian Klaus Gallwitz is dead
The founding director of the Arp Museum Rolandseck, Klaus Gallwitz, at the press conference for the opening of the house. Photo: Thomas Frey / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
He promoted young artists from an early age, such as Gerhard Richter or Anselm Kiefer, who are among the greats of the art scene today. The long-time Städel director Klaus Gallwitz has now died.
The art historian and long-time Städel director Klaus Gallwitz is dead. The 91-year-old died on October 21 with his family in Karlsruhe, as his wife Bénédicte Peyrat announced on Monday. Several media had previously reported about it
Gallwitz was considered to be a sponsor of young artists such as Gerhard Richter, Markus Lüpertz or Anselm Kiefer, who are now among the great stars of the art scene. From 1974 he was director of the Städel Museum in Frankfurt am Main for two decades. “In the 20 years of his tenure in office, he has demonstrated his flair for contemporary art in several ways and has written exhibition history with it,” said Ina Hartwig, head of the Frankfurt cultural department, on Monday.
The love of art began with the son of a geology professor at home, where artists like Emil Nolde went in and out. After studying in East Berlin, Halle / Saale, Kiel, Munich and Göttingen, the newly graduated doctor opened a gallery of contemporary art in Karlsruhe in 1957. Artists from the neighboring academy such as HAP Grieshaber or Horst Antes exhibited there.
Later, as managing director of the Badischer Kunstverein, Gallwitz organized exhibitions about Max Beckmann, Lovis Corinth and Oskar Kokoschka. With the “Garden of Earthly Delights” by Horst Antes for the 1967 Federal Horticultural Show, he caused a sensation nationwide. In the same year he went to Baden-Baden as head of the State Art Gallery.
In 2003 the art historian, who made a name for himself with catalogs of works on Beckmann and Picasso, was appointed founding director of the Frieder Burda Museum.