Guy Weill
Guy Weill (May 13, 1914 – August 17, 2006) was a Swiss-born American art collector. Born in Switzerland, he served in military intelligence for the United States Army during World War II and ran a luxury clothing store on Madison Avenue after the war. He was a large collector of Abstract Expressionism, Neo-Expressionism, and Asian Art.
Guy Weill | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 13, 1914 Zurich, Switzerland |
| Died | August 17, 2006 (aged 92) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Art collector |
| Spouse(s) | Marie-Hélène Bigar |
| Relatives | Kurt Weill (cousin) |
Early life
Guy Weill was born circa 1914 in Zurich, Switzerland.[1][2][3] His mother was Alsatian.[2] He had a sister, Marianne Lester.[2] His cousin, Kurt Weill, was a renowned composer.[2]
Weill emigrated to the United States in 1938.[1][3] During World War II, he worked in military intelligence for the United States Army.[1]
Career
Weill ran a clothing store on Madison Avenue in New York City called British American House.[1][2][3] He imported luxury clothes from England, like Aquascutum and Burberry, and sold them in his store.[1][2]
Art collection
Weill began collecting paintings by Pablo Picasso and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner as a teenager in Switzerland.[1][2] Once in New York after World War II, he and his wife focused on collecting works of Abstract Expressionism and Neo-Expressionism.[4] For example, they acquired paintings by Sam Francis, Philip Guston, Robert Motherwell, Larry Rivers, Karel Appel, Helen Frankenthaler and Louise Nevelson.[4]
From the late 1970s onward, Weill and his wife began collecting Asian art.[2] In 1979, they began an annual trip on the Silk Road of China to find more art to purchase.[2]
In 2002, the Weills's art collection was the subject of an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art called Cultivated Landscapes: Reflections of Nature in Chinese Painting with Selections from the Collection of Marie-Hélène and Guy Weill.[1][3] A catalogue was subsequently published.[5]
Personal life and death
Weill had a wife, Marie-Hélène Bigar, and three daughters, Photographer Kathryn, Film and TV Director Claudia and Patricia.[1] They resided in New York City and summered in Cape Cod.[4] He died on August 17, 2006, at the age of 92.[2][3]
References
- "Guy Weill, 92, Noted Collector of Asian Art, Is Dead". The New York Times. September 2, 2006. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
- Miller, Stephen (August 23, 2006). "Guy Weill, 92, Dealer of Trendy Menswear and Art Patron". The New York Sun. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
- "Guy Weill, 92, collector of Asian art". Boston.com. August 25, 2006. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
- "The Weills — 'A collaboration of like minds'". Christie's. April 6, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
- Hearn, Maxwell K. (2002). Cultivated landscapes : Chinese paintings from the collection of Marie-Hélène and Guy Weill. New York City: Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 9780300097825. OCLC 49551227.