Christie’s to Present the Helga and Edzard Reuter Collection

On 28th May, Christie’s Paris will showcase the prestigious collection of Helga and Edzard Reuter, a fascinating selection of contemporary artworks influenced by the European avant-garde. Edzard Reuter (1928-2024) was the son of Ernst Reuter, the renowned mayor of Berlin during the city's blockade by Soviet forces.

Edzard himself became one of Germany’s leading industrial figures, serving as President of Daimler Benz AG from 1987 to 1995.

The Reuter collection includes significant works such as Relief planétaire terre by Yves Klein (€600,000-800,000) and Concetto Spaziale by Lucio Fontana (€400,000-600,000), alongside pieces by François Morellet, Enrico Castellani, and notable German artists like Günther Uecker, Gottfried Graubner, and Peter Roehr. The collection is showcased in a Brutalist 1970s mansion near Stuttgart, with its dense, non-hierarchical display echoing the contemporaneity of the artworks themselves.

The 50 selected works have an estimated pre-sale value of 3 to 5 million euros, with the proceeds benefiting the Helga and Edzard Reuter Foundation, which the couple established in 1995. The Foundation focuses on fostering intercultural dialogue and coexistence. Additional works from the collection will be featured in the 20/21 auctions in autumn 2025, with all proceeds again supporting the Foundation.

Edzard Reuter (1928-2024) was the son of Ernst Reuter, a prominent social democratic politician during the Weimar Republic. When the Nazis rose to power in 1933, the family went into exile, and Edzard grew up in Turkey between 1935 and 1945. After the Second World War, the family returned to Germany, where Ernst Reuter became the governing mayor of Berlin in 1948. Edzard, however, chose a career in business over politics, joining Mercedes Benz in Stuttgart in 1964 amidst Germany’s post-war economic boom.

By 1987, Edzard Reuter had risen to become CEO of Daimler Benz AG, where he transformed the company into an integrated technology group. The company’s art collection grew substantially under his leadership, with notable acquisitions. However, the private collection assembled by Edzard and Helga Reuter best reflects the profound role art played in his life, with a truly European collection that remains solidly cohesive and contemporary.

Helga and Edzard Reuter began acquiring works by contemporary artists in the 1960s, often from leading European galleries or directly from the artists, with whom they often enjoyed close friendships. This resulted in a unified collection representing the European avant-garde of the post-war period.

A visit to their home revealed a new approach to the concept of a ‘Petersburg hanging’, with abstract works displayed densely and without any specific order. For the Reuters, art was an instrument of knowledge, and it found its ideal setting in an architecture that paid homage to Bauhaus principles while embodying a profound commitment to contemporaneity.

The collection includes works by the founders of the ZERO group, Otto Piene and Heinz Mack, joined shortly thereafter by Günther Uecker, three of whose works are featured in the auction, with estimates ranging from €80,000 to €200,000. The ZERO group, with its unclassifiable approach, attracted numerous international artists and quickly became a key movement in post-war art.

In addition to major works by Yves Klein and Lucio Fontana, the collection also includes an Achrome by Piero Manzoni, whose works are often compared to those of Yves Klein (€100,000-150,000), and Superficie nera No. 3, an acrylic painting by Enrico Castellani, described by Donald Judd as one of the ‘fathers of Minimalism’ (€200,000-300,000). Geometric abstraction is represented by works such as François Morellet’s Sphère frames, a 1967 stainless steel sculpture (€40,000-60,000), as well as works by Julio Le Parc and Jesús Rafael Soto, with a Collage et vibration estimated at €150,000-250,000.

Moved by his experiences in exile in Turkey and shaped by his father’s humanist values, Edzard Reuter and his wife established the Helga and Edzard Reuter Foundation in 1995. The Foundation's mission is to promote intercultural dialogue and the social integration of individuals from diverse ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds.

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

All proceeds from the auction on 28th May will benefit the Helga and Edzard Reuter Foundation in Berlin.