Eberhard W. Kornfeld Bequest

In April 2023, a few months before his 100th birthday, the art dealer, collector and patron Eberhard W. Kornfeld passed away. For the Kunstmuseum Bern, it was a farewell to a confidant and friend who had a special bond with the institution. Kornfeld was always willing to provide his contacts and act as a mediator; he allowed insight into his archives when it came to questions of provenance research and enriched the exhibitions as a lender. 

Moreover, Eberhard W. Kornfeld was one of the museum's most generous patrons. His gifts to the Kunstmuseum Bern include graphic works by Maurice de Vlaminck and Alfred Kubin as well as a monumental mobile by Alexander Calder, which he donated to the museum with Marlies Kornfeld. 

After his death, Eberhard W. Kornfeld bequeathed five outstanding paintings to the Kunstmuseum Bern, which will be on display to the public for the first time from Friday, 29 March 2024: 

Alfred Sisley, Kirche in Moret Sur Loing, 1893 
Giovanni Giacometti, Selbstbildnis, 1909 
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Junkerboden, 1919 
Sam Francis, Blue, Red and Yellow, 1958 
Alberto Giacometti, Caroline, 1965 

“Eberhard Kornfeld carefully selected the works of this bequest for the Kunstmuseum Bern. We remain deeply grateful to him for this generous gift and his many years of friendly support," explains Nina Zimmer, Director of the Kunstmuseum Bern – Zentrum Paul Klee. "Each of these works represents a particular relationship Ebi Kornfeld had with an artist, or one of his fields of research. And each work fills a gap in the collection of the Kunstmuseum Bern.”