Friends of the Museum Berggruen founded - plans to expand the museum
Press release from 07/16/2007
The "Förderkreis Museum Berggruen Berlin e.V." was recently founded with the aim of further promoting and expanding the museum, which is part of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, through civic engagement. The founding members are Heinz Berggruen's heirs - his widow Bettina and his children Nicolas, Olivier and Helen - as well as Michael Blumenthal, Peter Raue, Michael Naumann, Simon de Pury, Klaus-Dieter Lehmann and Peter-Klaus Schuster.
The profile and significance of the Museum Berggruen, as well as the public perception of the museum, are to be further strengthened. In addition, an expansion of the museum is currently being considered. The heirs of Heinz Berggruen are prepared to give over fifty works by Picasso, Matisse, Klee and Cézanne to the museum, initially as a long-term loan. The works are currently located in Paris, Zurich and in rooms in Berlin that are not open to the public.
The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation is currently negotiating with the State of Berlin regarding the transfer of a property adjacent to the Museum Berggruen, which could be directly connected to the existing museum. The President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, is currently in talks with the Minister of State for Culture, Bernd Neumann, regarding the assumption of the remodelling costs. The Foundation is prepared to cover the running costs of running the museum. The Board of Trustees will discuss the matter at its next meeting in December this year.
The important art collector and patron Heinz Berggruen, who died last February at the age of 93, donated 167 outstanding works of classical modernism, including major works by Picasso, Matisse, Klee, Giacometti and Cézanne, to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in 2000. Shortly before his death, he donated "The Great Standing III" by Alberto Giacometti to the museum named after him. The collection, which has been on display in the Stüler Building opposite Charlottenburg Palace since 1996, has been enthusiastically received by 1.5 million visitors to date.