PARIS.- On 28th of May, Christie’s Paris will present the prestigious collection of Helga and Edzard Reuter, an interesting group of contemporary works of art inspired by the European avant-garde. Edzard Reuter (1928-2024) was the son of Ernst Reuter, the famous mayor of Berlin who was in government during the blockade of the city by Soviet forces, Edzard Reuter was also one of Germany’s most powerful industrial leaders as President of Daimler Benz AG from 1987 to 1995. The Reuter collection include a Relief planétaire terre by Yves Klein (€600,000-800,000) and a Concetto Spaziale by Lucio Fontana (€400,000-600,000) as well as works by François Morellet, Enrico Castellani, and of course German artists such as Günther Uecker, Gottfried Graubner and Peter Roehr. The dense, non-hierarchical hanging in a Brutalist 1970s mansion close to Stuttgart was as contemporary as the choice of works, and highlights the richness of the collection.


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The 50 selected works have a pre-sale estimate of 3 to 5 million euros, proceeds from the auction will be benefitting the Helga and Edzard Reuter Foundation created by the couple in 1995. The Foundation is committed to promoting intercultural dialogue and coexistence. Further remaining works from the collection will be presented during the 20/21 auctions in the fall of 2025 and once more the revenue will be benefitting the Foundation.

Edzard Reuter

Edzard (1928-2024), was the son of Ernst Reuter, a social democratic politician of the Weimar Republic and when the Nazi’s came to power in 1933 the family went into exile, so that Edzard grew up in Turkey between 1935 and 1945. After the Second World War, the family returned to Germany and Ernst Reuter became the governing mayor of a divided Berlin in 1948. His son Edzard was to decide against a political career and started at Mercedes Benz in Stuttgart in 1964 - in the midst of the economic miracle.

By 1987, he had risen to become CEO of Daimler Benz AG, which he transformed into an integrated technology group. The company's art collection was also expanded during this tenure with important acquisitions. But the extent to which art influenced his life can be best seen in the private collection Edzard and Helga Reuter assembled, bringing together a truly European collection, solidly coherent and contemporary.

The Edzard and Helga Reuter Collection

Helga and Edzard Reuter acquired works by contemporary artists from the 1960s onwards, either from renowned European galleries or directly from artists with whom they maintained close friendships in many cases. The result was a unified ensemble of the European avant-garde of the post-war period.

A visit to the Reuters gave new meaning to the term ‘Petersburg hanging’. The consistently abstract works hung densely, without any particular order or preference. The Reuters saw art as an instrument for imparting knowledge. It found its framework in an architecture that paid homage to the Bauhaus ideas while demonstrating an absolute desire for contemporaneity.

This collection includes the founders of the ZERO group, Otto Piene and Heinz Mack, who were joined shortly after by Günther Uecker, by whom the auction offers three works with estimates between €80,000 and €200,000. The ZERO group, which is unclassifiable in terms of its concept, attracted numerous international artists and quickly developed into a ‘who's who’ of post-war artists. In addition to major works by Yves Klein and Lucio Fontana, the collection includes an Achrome by Piero Manzoni, whose works have often been compared to those of Yves Klein (€100,000-150,000) or Superficie nera No. 3, an acrylic painting on canvas by Enrico Castellani, who was described by Donald Judd as one of the ‘fathers of Minimalism’ (€200,000-300,000). Representatives of geometric abstraction include works by François Morellet Sphère frames, a stainless steel sculpture from 1967, €40,000-60,000 , Julio Le Parc and a Collage et vibration by Jesús Rafael Soto (€150,000-250,000).

The Helga and Edzard Reuter Foundation

Deeply affected by his experiences whilst living in exile in Turkey and his father’s humanist values, Edzard Reuter and his wife set up a foundation in their names in 1995. Their mission is to promote an intercultural dialogue and foster the social integration of people from all ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds.

Dr Susanne Eisenmann, President of the Helga and Edzard Reuter Foundation: “Helga and Edzard Reuter have bequeathed their entire wealth to the foundation they created. Thanks to the foundation, projects based on these values and committed to social cohesion are supported throughout Germany.”

All proceeds from the sale on May 28 will be benefitting the Helga und Edzard Reuter-Stiftung Foundation in Berlin.


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