Elective Affinity

The private collection of Swiss-based entrepreneur Esther Grether is famous throughout the world for its quality and scope. Due to the intimate affinity of the works themselves, the collection, like almost no other, impressively represents a life lived in devotion to the masterpieces. The title of this first extensive publication on the collection echoes this dual distinction: an elective affinity is what connects Grether to her works, and the works themselves are linked to each other in indirect and multiple ways. The personal emphases of the collection reflect precise, central aspects of twentieth-century art history. Photographs of the collection show how the rooms are subordinated to art and testify to its independence from the categories and values of an art market focused on representationalism. (German edition ISBN 978-3-7757-3709-8)