Schaulager loan helps Kunstmuseum stage blockbuster Van Gogh show

Insurance a major factor in the loan of 180 paintings and sculptures

By Martin Bailey | From Art Basel daily edition, 9 Jun 09
Published online 9 Jun 09

Visitors to the Schaulager may be astonished at the generosity of the Kunstmuseum Basel in lending 180 major paintings and sculptures, for “Holbein to Tillmans” (until 4 October). The Schaulager, a bold project funded by the Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation, is a storehouse of modern and contemporary art, open for groups, which has an annual summer show. The foundation has close links with the Kunstmuseum, but there are also practical reasons for the loan.

The Kunstmuseum has cleared many of its permanent collection galleries for its spectacular Van Gogh landscapes exhibition, which is expected to attract 500,000 visitors by the time it closes on 27 September. The long suite of rooms has given the Van Goghs space and helps the museum cope with the crowds. Lending to the Schaulager was therefore a sensible arrangement for both venues.

There was also an additional reason for the loans, however: insurance. Although not officially announced, the 70 Van Goghs are believed to be worth around CHF2bn ($1.8bn), and in addition the Kunstmuseum is responsible for insuring its own permanent collection while it is in its building. So, moving works to Schaulager—many of them valuable—has helped to reduce the insurance burden.