Galerie Kornfeld


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 as well as Old Master prints and drawings.

History

Heinrich Georg Gutekunst opened his gallery for Old and Modern Art in Stuttgart on 1 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.

Activities

Sales

Galerie Kornfeld holds annual auction sales over several days in June to coincide with ART Basel, a lively social event which 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.
The Galerie also works throughout the year as a classic art gallery and dealer's. Usually in autumn and winter up to three exhibitions are organised on the premises.

Publishing

The experts at Galerie Kornfeld also work on publishing comprehensive catalogues raisonné of renowned artists like Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Max Beckmann, Paul Klee, Käthe Kollwitz, Paul Gauguin, Pablo Picasso and Alberto Giacometti.

Managing Partners

Notable auctions