Esther Grether | |
|---|---|
| Born | Esther Kast 1935 or 1936 (age 87–88)[1] Switzerland |
| Occupation(s) | Chair, Doetsch Grether Group |
| Known for | Art collector |
| Spouse | Hans Grether (deceased) |
Esther Grether (nee Kast, born c. 1936) is a Swiss art collector and businesswoman. In February 2023, Forbes estimated her and her net worth at US$1.5 billion.
Early life
Esther Grether was born Esther Kast around 1936.[1]
Business
She inherited a beauty and health care products company from her late husband Hans Grether in 1975 that she continues to run with her daughters.[1] She has been chair of the board of the Basel-based Doetsch Grether Group for more than thirty years.[2] She has served on the Swatch Group's Board of Directors from 1986 until 2014.[2]
In 2013 Forbes magazine estimated her and her family's net worth at US$1.5 billion.[1]
Art collection
Grether possesses one of the most valuable collections of 20th-century art in the world. Her collection reportedly includes more than 600 pieces and includes works by Pablo Picasso, Paul Cézanne, Salvador Dalí, Francis Bacon and Alberto Giacometti.[1] The collection is kept in a converted printing factory which is also her home.[3] Grether owns Bacon's Triptych, May–June 1973 (one of Bacon's three "Black Triptychs"[4]) which she purchased at auction in 1989 for $6.3 million, a record price for a Bacon painting at that time. She is also believed to own three other Bacon triptychs from the 1970s.[5][6]
In December 1962, it was thanks to a bank guarantee provided by Hans Grether, secured on Doetsch Grether shares, that the Basel art dealer Ernst Beyeler was able to buy the American collector G. David Thompson's entire collection of 70 Giacometti works.[7]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Esther Grether profile". Forbes profile - Esther Grether. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- 1 2 "Board of Directors - Esther Grether". Swatch Board of Directors. The Swatch Group. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- ↑ "In pictures: Top Billionaire Art Collectors". Forbes Billionaires Art Collectors. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- ↑ Tóibín, Colm. "Such a Grip and Twist". The Dublin Review, 2000.
- ↑ Thornton, Sarah. "Francis Bacon claims his place at the top of the market". The Art Newspaper, 29 August 2008. Retrieved on 10 June 2010.
- ↑ "Post-War Works Shine at Christie's" Artnet News, 16 November 2000. Retrieved on 7 May 2007.
- ↑ Philip Ursprung (1 January 2005). Herzog & de Meuron: Natural History : [Ausstellung, Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), Montréal, 23 October 2002 to 6 April 2003; Heinz Architectural Center, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, 5 June to 7 September 2003; Schaulager, Münchenstein/Basel, Spring 2004 ...]. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 129–130. ISBN 978-3-03778-049-7. Retrieved 28 September 2015.