“I was less interested in discovering young artists. First, I wanted to have the big names which would soon become classics. …Speculating fascinated me. There were discoveries to be made. In Paris and other places, I found objects sold at a dirt cheap price. I thought these must be worth a lot more. It felt like winning a World Cup race.” —Ernst Beyeler
Next week is the opening of Art Basel in Basel. Here, SwissInfo takes a look back at Ernst Beyeler (1921–2010), legendary art dealer, museum founder, and one of the founders of Art Basel. What does it mean for the art market today that a founder of Art Basel was “fascinated” by speculating in the art market?