Oskar Reinhart

Oskar Reinhart (11 June 1885 – 16 September 1965) was a Swiss art collector and patron from Winterthur. After a career in the family’s trading business, he devoted himself to building a collection of European art with a focus on French Impressionism and Swiss painting. His collections, today housed at the Museum Oskar Reinhart am Stadtgarten and the Römerholz estate, are open to the public.[1][2][3]

Biography

Oskar Reinhart was born in Winterthur on 11 June 1885, the son of Theodor Reinhart, a cotton merchant who established the family’s tradition of cultural patronage.[1][2][3] He belonged to a prominent Winterthur family that in the 18th century held leading positions as councillors and judges, and from the 19th century was active in overseas trade, particularly in cotton.[3]

After studying in Lausanne, Reinhart entered the family trading firm, training in London in 1907 and working in India from 1909 to 1911. From 1912 to 1924 he was a co-owner of the business.[1][2]

In 1909 he spent time in Berlin, a formative period for his interest in art, during which he came into contact with Julius Meier-Graefe.[1][2] Following these influences, Reinhart gave French Impressionists a central place in his acquisitions, while also collecting earlier European masters he viewed as precursors to Impressionism, as well as German and Swiss art.[2]

In 1920 he founded the Clubhouse Zur Geduld in Winterthur, which was decorated by Karl Walser and Henry Bischoff.[1] After leaving business in 1924, he devoted himself entirely to collecting art.[2] His collection at his residence Am Römerholz included European paintings from the 14th to early 20th centuries, as well as sculptures, and he later bequeathed it to the Swiss Confederation.[1]

He donated the Oskar Reinhart Foundation, a study collection of Swiss and Austrian works from the 18th to 20th centuries, to the city of Winterthur. It opened in 1951 as the Museum Oskar Reinhart am Stadtgarten.[1]

Reinhart served on the Swiss Federal Art Commission from 1933 to 1938 and received honorary doctorates from the University of Basel (1932) and the University of Zurich (1951).[1] He died in Winterthur on 16 September 1965.[1][2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Joelson-Strohbach, Harry (13 August 2013). "Oskar Reinhart". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS). Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Reinhard-Felice, Mariantonia (2003). "Reinhart, Oskar". Neue Deutsche Biographie. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Widmer, Urs (2003). "Reinhart". Neue Deutsche Biographie. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
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