The case
In a worldwide first the Fondation Beyeler presents Surrealist masterworks from the Collection Hersaint (16 February – 4 May 2025).
Source: Fondation Beyeler
The commentary
The exhibition features around 50 equisite masterpieces by artists such as Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, René Magritte, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, Dorothea Tanning to name but a few.
The works reflect major themes of Surrealism such as dreams, the unconscious, metamorphoses or the forest as a mystical place. The collection was established by the banker Claude Hersaint, who purchased his first painting by Max Ernst at the age of only 17. His lifelong passion for art led him to build one of the most significant collections of Surrealist art.
The total value of Surrealist art across all auctions at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips tells the same story, rising from USD 113 m in 2016 to a staggering USD 390 m in 2022. The USD 73.6 m paid for Magritte‘s L’empire des lumières (1961) at Sotheby’s in London last year marked a record not just for his work but for any Surrealist painting and finally had a Surrealist artist achieve the prices paid for the most sought-after American Abstract Expressionists (Source: Apollo Magazine).
