Schwäbisch Hall. Reinhold Würth transformed his father's small screw shop into a global corporation with a turnover of more than 20 billion euros. But the 91-year-old is not only an entrepreneur, but also a passionate art collector. When he opens a museum, celebrities gather.
The fact that a renovation and expansion is enough was shown on Tuesday in Schwäbisch Hall: Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Prime Minister Cem Özdemir and 600 invited guests honored him at the ceremony in St. Catherine's Church.
The investment of 25 million euros in Schwäbisch Hall seems almost modest by Würth's standards. However, she is just one of many. Würth maintains museums at 14 locations worldwide where visitors can view his art free of charge.
Over the decades, the entrepreneur has collected more than 21,000 works of art from the late Middle Ages to the present, including southern German Renaissance portraits and objects of courtly splendor. There are also entire blocks of work by Anselm Kiefer, Max Ernst, Christo and Jeanne-Claude and David Hockney. The collection is one of the most active private art collections in Europe.
Since its founding 25 years ago, more than five million people have visited the Kunsthalle in Schwäbisch Hall. After a three-year expansion and renovation phase, the house is now presented in its new form for the first time. The Copenhagen office Henning Larsen Architects has expanded the art gallery by around 600 square meters of exhibition space, making it a total of around 3200 square meters. For the first time, a continuous tour of the house is possible. New spaces for art education and audiovisual content also expand the possibilities for communicating and making art accessible in different ways.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier praised Reinhold Würth's commitment as an entrepreneur to democracy and art. In his speech he referred to the German-Jewish painter Max Liebermann. "It shows us how closely free art and liberal democracy are intertwined. And it reminds us: We must protect these civilizational achievements - from anyone who wants to harm them!" said Steinmeier.
“Years ago the danger seemed abstract, but now the Bauhaus in Dessau fears for its survival,” said the Federal President. And many other institutions are in a similar situation. "A new culture war has been declared and threatens to once again restrict the regained 'free space for art' with nationalist narrow-mindedness. We must oppose this with all our might!"
He praised Würth as an entrepreneur who is not only interested in his balance sheets, but also has the common good in mind and takes responsibility for democracy. “They are the counter-model to a trend that I am observing with great concern – in the USA, but not only there,” warned Steinmeier. Reinhold Würth is now only honorary chairman of the Würth Group's foundation supervisory board; he has given up all operational positions. But his word still has weight in the company.
At Reinhold Würth's request, the opening in the reopened house is the large solo exhibition “Anselm Kiefer - Everything that is the case”. It shows more than 70 works from the Würth Collection and 21 loans from the artist. Würth has felt a special connection to Kiefer, who was present at the ceremony, for years. “I was surprised by the incredible power in his work and indeed by his anchoring in the region,” says Würth. “In many of his pictures you can feel a certain down-to-earthness and his engagement with our history.”
The relationship between collector and artist goes beyond the usual level. For Würth's 85th birthday, Kiefer gave him a specially made photo with an airplane motif for the passionate pilot, with the dedication “Reinhold Würth Congratulations I Anselm Kiefer”. Kiefer is one of the most successful artists economically, alongside Gerhard Richter and Neo Rauch. Last but not least, Reinhold Würth is one of his regular customers.
“It is fantastic to be here and to see the exhibition of Anselm Kiefer’s work – an exceptional artist with whom the Würth couple is bringing us together,” said Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Cem Özdemir. He praised the Würth family's commitment to Baden-Württemberg as an art location.
In addition to the exhibition in Schwäbisch Hall, Kiefer's work will also have a new, permanent location in Künzelsau. The Anselm Kiefer Pavilion at Museum Würth 2, designed by Sir David Chipperfield, opens on the site opposite the company headquarters. It is dedicated to the monumental work “Black Flakes” from the Würth Collection, which, with a height of around eleven meters, is being shown for the first time in a building specially created for this purpose.
Maria Würth, granddaughter of Reinhold Würth, now looks after the entire collection as head of the Würth Group's art and culture division. The majority of the works belong to the company. Despite regular assessments, there are likely to be enormous hidden reserves lying dormant in the balance sheet.
According to his own statement, Reinhold Würth has never resold a picture. This is how the reservoir grows. One of the most spectacular purchases is the “Holbein Madonna” for an estimated 50 million euros. It is considered to be the most important German panel painting of the early Renaissance. Four years ago, Würth acquired Max Beckmann's “Yellow-Pink Self-Portrait” for 20 million euros “under cover” - and later first told Handelsblatt about it.
