1967 Basel Picasso paintings purchase referendum

April 2022 none thumb|Two Brothers (1905); one of the subjects of the referendum, which remain on display in the Kunstmuseum Basel In the 1967 Basel Picasso paintings purchase referendum, the people of Basel, Switzerland, voted for the purchase of two paintings by Pablo Picasso, Les deux frères (1906) and Arlequin assis (1923). The referendum took place on 17 December 1967, and the "yes" campaign was supported by the youth of Basel and the local football club FC Basel, among others. Picasso was astonished by the fact that people would vote in favor to buy his art in a majority vote, and invited Franz Meyer, the director of the Kunstmuseum Basel, to see him at his atelier in Mougins, where he presented the "Youth of Basel" with four more of his works.16 March 2013 Legendärer Volksentscheid – Das Picasso-Wunder von Basel https://www.srf.ch/kultur/kunst/legendaerer-volksentscheid-das-picasso-wunder-von-basel 23 April 2021 Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) de Background Artist Pablo Picasso finished the paintings Two Brothers in 1905 and Seated Harlequin in 1923. The Swiss industrialist Rudolf Staechelin came to acquire both, in 1907 and 1924. Following the Basel-based entrepreneur's death in 1947, his foundation loaned the two paintings to the Kunstmuseum Basel, whereupon they became a treasured part of the collection. After 20 years in the Basel collection, the museum assumed the loan would be permanent.Hamilton But the fate of the paintings became uncertain following the 1967 Nicosia Britannia disaster, in which a Globe-Air flight crashed, killing 126 and leading to the Basel charter airline's bankruptcy. Peter Staechelin, a son of the industrialist, officer of his foundation, and principal shareholder of Globe-Air,Hamilton sought to sell paintings to repay his creditors.20 October 1967 Die Sammlung Staechelin im Kunstmuseum Basel https://static.nzz.ch/files/2/0/8/Picasso+Basel+NZZ+20_1.18725208.10_1.18725208.1967_1.18725208.pdf live 23 April 2021 Neue Zürcher Zeitung https://web.archive.org/web/20210423062326/https://static.nzz.ch/files/2/0/8/Picasso+Basel+NZZ+20_1.18725208.10_1.18725208.1967_1.18725208.pdf 23 April 2021 The Staechelin Foundation chose to sell works by Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, and Alfred Sisley as well as the La Berceuse by Vincent Van Gogh, all of which were hanging on loan in the Basel Kunstmuseum.Meyer Benedikt Die wahrscheinlich seltsamste Abstimmung der Schweizer Geschichte – Picasso ja oder nein? higgs 14 March 2021 https://www.higgs.ch/die-wahrscheinlich-seltsamste-abstimmung-der-schweizer-geschichte-picasso-ja-oder-nein/40659/ de 26 April 2022 An unidentified American bidder offered 11 million francs for Staechelin's two Picassos (US$2.56 million).Hamilton After a first successful sale was reported, opposition to a further sell-out arose from influential personalities of Basel. Franz Meyer and Peter Staechelin agreed that the two Picassos would be sold to the city of Basel for the sum of 8.4 million Swiss Francs, which was enough to pay for Staehelin's debts. Referendum The Executive Council of Basel-Stadt decided to grant six million for the purchase of the Picassos and the Grand Council of Basel-Stadt approved the loan with four opposing votesGerny Daniel 11 April 2016 Wie die Basler Picassos Herz eroberten https://www.nzz.ch/schweiz/schweizer-geschichte/blick-zurueck-wie-die-basler-picassos-herz-erobern-ld.12794 live 23 April 2021 Neue Zürcher Zeitung https://web.archive.org/web/20160414045037/http://www.nzz.ch:80/schweiz/schweizer-geschichte/blick-zurueck-wie-die-basler-picassos-herz-erobern-ld.12794 14 April 2016 on 12 October 1967. The remaining 2.4 million was to be paid by the public. To collect the amount needed, the cultural society of the city organized so called "Beggars Feasts", daughters of good-standing families cleaned shoes or offered meals and students sold popcorn during school breaks.Basels Kampf um die Picasso-Bilder https://static.nzz.ch/files/2/1/3/Picasso+Basel+NZZ+15_1.18725213.11_1.18725213.1967+Kundgebung_1.18725213.pdf live 30 April 2021 static.nzz.ch https://web.archive.org/web/20210430125731/https://static.nzz.ch/files/2/1/3/Picasso+Basel+NZZ+15_1.18725213.11_1.18725213.1967+Kundgebung_1.18725213.pdf 30 April 2021 The amount of money collected was displayed above the entrance of the Kunstmuseum Basel, which reserved a prominent room, where only the two Picassos in question together with Hans Holbein the Younger's portrait of his wife and their two children were presented, to show the current mood of the museum.18 December 1967 The city's art lovers win Picassos 10 Salt Lake Tribune A committee led by Albert Lauper,3 November 1967 Referendum gegen den Ankauf der Picasso Bilder? https://static.nzz.ch/files/4/8/2/Picasso+Referendum_1.18724482.pdf live 23 April 2021 Neue Zürcher Zeitung https://web.archive.org/web/20210423062323/https://static.nzz.ch/files/4/8/2/Picasso+Referendum_1.18724482.pdf 23 April 2021 who had lost money with the liquidation of Globe Air, opposed the loan and achieved enough votes for a referendum about the credit for the purchase.Stephanie Hess The miracle of Picasso in Basel https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/art-and-democracy_a-picasso-miracle-in-basel/43572276 23 April 2021 SWI swissinfo.ch 6 October 2017 en The committee argued that the municipality should be concerned about affordable housing and social welfare instead of purchasing paintings. A vigorous campaign ensued during which the slogans "I like Pablo" or "All you need is Pablo" were proclaimed in manifestations throughout the city. "All you need is Pablo" was chosen in reference to the well-known Beatles song "All You Need Is Love", which was released the same year. The local football club FC Basel hung posters supporting the "yes campaign" and the city's public transport operator offered an option to donate a part of ticket fares for the purchase of the Picassos while its director appealed to the spirit of Johann Rudolf Wettstein who in 1661 also decided to support the culture of Basel. The students of the high schools in Basel collected 2,000 signatures among themselves in a show of solidarity with the yes campaign and the cantons of Basel-Land and St.Gallen both voluntarily contributed to the purchase. Together with further donations by the pharmaceutical elite of Basel, 2.5 million was raised which was more than initially needed. Proponents held nightly meetings to strategize their outreach to Basel's poorer citizens, who may be more inclined to allocate funds for other services. Basel artists donated paintings and pottery for sale at the Beggar's Festival, a street fair.Hamilton Opponents argued that the funds were better appropriated towards schools and hospitals. Many former stockholders and employees of the Basel-based, bankrupted Globe-Air resented the idea of public bailout for the paintings, considering their losses from the affair.Hamilton The referendum, which took place on 17 December 1967, passed 32,118 to 27,190.Hamilton The two paintings remained in the Kunstmuseum Basel.Les deux frères, Frühsommer 1906 (Gósol) Die beiden Brüder The Two Brothers https://sammlungonline.kunstmuseumbasel.ch/eMP/eMuseumPlus?service=direct/1/ResultDetailView/result.inline.list.t1.collection_list.$TspTitleLink.link&sp=13&sp=Sartist&sp=SfilterDefinition&sp=0&sp=1&sp=1&sp=SdetailView&sp=66&sp=Sdetail&sp=0&sp=T&sp=0&sp=SdetailList&sp=0&sp=F&sp=Scollection&sp=l1497 2023-01-15 sammlungonline.kunstmuseumbasel.chArlequin assis, 1923 Sitzender Harlekin Seated Harlequin https://sammlungonline.kunstmuseumbasel.ch/eMP/eMuseumPlus?service=direct/1/ResultDetailView/result.inline.list.t1.collection_list.$TspTitleLink.link&sp=13&sp=Sartist&sp=SfilterDefinition&sp=0&sp=1&sp=1&sp=SdetailView&sp=66&sp=Sdetail&sp=0&sp=T&sp=0&sp=SdetailList&sp=0&sp=F&sp=Scollection&sp=l1280 2023-01-15 sammlungonline.kunstmuseumbasel.ch As part of the sale, the city required the Staechelin Foundation to keep 12 of the museum's highest prized works on loan for 15 years at a minimum.Hamilton Reactions thumb|The Poet, 1912 Having observed the elections, Pablo Picasso was overwhelmed by the result and invited Franz Meyer to visit him in his Mougins atelier in the south of France. There he would present to the "Youth of Basel"17 January 2013 "Franz Meyer war ein Schlitzohr" https://tageswoche.ch/kultur/franz-meyer-war-ein-schlitzohr/ 30 April 2021 TagesWoche de-CH the works Man, Woman and Child (1906) along with the two major later works Venus and Amor and The Couple (both from 1967). He also presented them with a sketch of the renowned Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907). Finally, Maja Sacher-Stehlin donated Picasso's cubist work The Poet (1912) in support of the cultural spirit in the city.Reifert Eva Kunst. Geld. Museum. Fünfzig Jahre Picasso-Story Artinside https://www.artinside.ch/kunst-geld-museum/ live 23 April 2021 Art Inside 13 January 2018 de-DE https://web.archive.org/web/20200925202434/https://www.artinside.ch/kunst-geld-museum/ 25 September 2020 In total, seven Picasso artworks became a part of the Kunstmuseum Basel in 1967.50th Anniversary of the Picasso Gift https://kunstmuseumbasel.ch/en/exhibitions/2018/picasso live 30 April 2021 kunstmuseumbasel.ch en https://web.archive.org/web/20191222083307/https://kunstmuseumbasel.ch/en/exhibitions/2018/picasso 22 December 2019 Legacy The referendum had been observed internationally, and the outcome was not expected by journalists who had prepared headlines for a victory of the "no campaign". In 2018, the Kunstmuseum Basel organized an exhibition to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the acquisitions and the events surrounding the referendum. References Hamilton Thomas J. Citizens of Basel Vote to Buy Two Early Picassos; Museum Wages Fight Chemical Industry Helps The New York Times 18 December 1967 https://www.nytimes.com/1967/12/18/archives/citizens-of-basel-vote-to-buy-two-early-picassos-museum-wages-fight.html en-US Further reading Heim Christoph Das Kunstmärchen von Basel: wie Basel 1967 zwei Picassos für das Kunstmuseum kaufte und fünf weitere Bilder geschenkt erhielt Basler Zeitung 2013 German 884642694 Pes Javier The Fable of the Seven Picassos of Basel: A Lesson for Museums in the Age of Market Madness Artnet News 8 March 2018 https://news.artnet.com/art-world/fable-seven-picassos-brought-date-basel-1237460 en-US 22 May 2021 Picasso Promises Surprise After Basel Buys 2 Works The New York Times 20 December 1967 https://www.nytimes.com/1967/12/20/archives/picasso-promises-surprise-after-basel-buys-2-works.html en-US 0362-4331 Swiss Vote to Buy Two Picassos: Offered for Sale Unprecedented Question The Christian Science Monitor 2 19 December 1967 English 510969110 Category:Pablo Picasso Category:History of Basel Basel Category:Referendums in Switzerland Category:1967 in Switzerland Category:Fundraising events