Kunsthaus Zürich Receives Gerhard Richter's 'Acht Lernschwestern' as Gift from Wyss Family
The Facts
The Kunsthaus Zürich has acquired a major early work by Gerhard Richter, the eight-part painting 'Acht Lernschwestern' (1966), as a gift from Hans B. Wyss and Brigitte Wyss-Sponagel. The donation was made to the Vereinigung Zürcher Kunstfreunde, which will place the work on permanent loan at the museum. The painting, which depicts eight young women based on a newspaper report about a 1966 serial killer case in Chicago, will be displayed in the Kunsthaus's new extension from October 2021. The extension focuses on art from 1960 onward, making it a fitting home for the piece.
The Signal
The acquisition fills a long-standing gap in the Kunsthaus's collection, which previously lacked a major Richter work. 'Acht Lernschwestern' is one of the few significant early Richters still available for museum acquisition, and its pop-art-inflected commentary on media sensationalism aligns with the museum's post-1960 focus. The gift underscores the continued importance of private patronage in building institutional collections, particularly for works that rarely come to market.
- Artists: Gerhard Richter
- People: Hans B. Wyss, Brigitte Wyss-Sponagel
- Museums: Kunsthaus Zürich
- Locations: Zürich
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