Heinz Berggruen, a renowned art dealer and collector, rose from the ashes of his troubled past in Germany to create one of the most impressive private collections of modern art ever assembled. Berggruen was born in Berlin and faced the grim consequences of Nazi repression as a teenager. As a journalist, he was forced to publish under the moniker “h.b.” since his Jewish descent rendered him a hunted man in a nation rapidly succumbing to fascism. In 1936, he made an extraordinary turn in his path, departing Germany for America. With just ten marks in his pocket, he held the promise of a new beginning.
In 1940, as Berggruen was becoming rooted in Chicago. One day, he spotted a Paul Klee watercolor and jumped at the chance, purchasing it for a mere $100 from another émigré. This mural would prove to be a powerful symbol of his short life and dreams. While in military service throughout the U.S., he traveled with Klee’s drawing in his breast pocket. He counted it as his own personal “talisman.”
Berggruen’s deep connection to Klee’s work reflected not only his artistic sensibilities but his longing for the cultural milieu he had lost. Natalie Zimmer, an art historian, noted the emotional weight of the drawing: “[The drawing] was probably a reminder of a world and home he had to leave behind, and a Germany that didn’t exist any more.”
Having established himself in America, Berggruen then dramatically switched fields from journalism to art dealing. He dove deep into the dynamic cultural landscape of 20th-century art. This determination saw him build thriving connections to important artists including Alberto Giacometti, Pablo Picasso, and Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack. All of them had similarly rescued themselves from an increasingly intolerable Germany. His collection started to coalesce during this time, with works that embodied artistic movements loathed by the Nazis.
The Nazi regime staged the infamous exhibition titled “Entartete Kunst” (“degenerate art”) in 1937, targeting the very styles Berggruen would come to champion. He also purchased amazing works such as Klee’s abstract watercolors, Giacometti’s slender sculptures, and Picasso’s groundbreaking Cubism. These extraordinary works of art were a courageous challenge to the totalitarian story dictated by the Nazi regime.
Berggruen felt a deep responsibility to recreate the cultural heritage destroyed during this dark chapter of history. In 2000, seven years before his death at age 93, he made the fateful decision to sell his extraordinary collection of works to the German state. This unprecedented move was more than just a monetary transfer. It was a beautiful symbolic act to do penance to help heal the historical injustice that the Nazis’ lethal confiscations of art had caused.
It’s fascinating that Berggruen’s collection ended up as a model of art’s survival during times of danger. He decided to bequeath these works to Berlin, reaffirming his deep bonds to his birthplace. Yet, this decision only reaffirmed his fondness for its culture, rather than that of other cities such as Geneva or London. His choice signaled an intention to overwrite the historic silences created by the cultural cleansings of the Nazi years.
The works that comprise the Berggruen collection are more than just aesthetic decor. They are the improbable synecdoche of an intercultural paradise that Berggruen has wished for with diaphanous ardor all his days. The collection includes not only Klee’s works but poignant pieces by artists such as Dora Maar, whose “Portrait of Pablo Picasso” challenges reductive portrayals of her merely as Picasso’s muse. Each artwork narrates stories of exile and resilience, capturing the essence of artists who faced persecution yet continued to create.