Zurich council insists on Bührle art collection provenance research

The Zurich Cantonal Council is insisting that the Zurich Art Society and the Bührle Foundation clarify the provenance of all paintings at their own expense. On Monday, it wrote off the urgent postulate from politicians on the reappraisal of the Bührle collection. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The Council voted 87 to 83 in favour of the dissenting opinion requested by the Commission for Education and Culture (KBIK). In 2022, the Cantonal Council narrowly referred the postulate, calling on the government to work with the City of Zurich to fully clarify the provenance of the paintings that the Bührle Foundation had lent to the Kunsthaus Zurich for exhibition. The report presented in 2024 by historian Raphael Gross made it clear that the Bührle Foundation’s research to date was insufficient, emphasised KBIK President Karin Fehr Thoma. A majority therefore called on the Art Society and the Bührle Foundation, which are responsible, to clarify the provenance ...