The Kunstmuseum Basel Foundation was originally incorporated in 1973 and has been active in its current form since 2003. It exists to strengthen and sustain the Kunstmuseum Basel—one of Europe’s most renowned museums of art history—by supporting what public funding alone cannot cover. The Foundation’s mission is to promote the Kunstmuseum Basel through targeted financial support: funding groundbreaking exhibitions, acquiring important new works for the collection, restoring and conserving artworks, and enabling other key initiatives that keep the museum vibrant and relevant. To achieve this, the Foundation works closely with other Swiss foundations, private patrons, and corporate sponsors. We actively expand our circle of supporters and maintain close relationships with existing partners who share our belief in the museum’s enduring cultural significance. We also organize exclusive events and behind-the-scenes encounters that bring donors closer to the museum’s creative and intellectual life. Today, the Foundation is committed to inspiring a new generation of supporters—those who recognize that the Kunstmuseum Basel’s future depends on collective generosity and imagination. Every contribution, large or small, helps ensure that this historic institution continues to lead and innovate on the international stage.
About Kunstmuseum
The Kunstmuseum Basel is custodian to the world’s first public art collection, founded in 1661 when the city of Basel purchased the Amerbach Cabinet with the conviction that art should be accessible to all. Over the centuries, this civic act of generosity evolved into one of the most distinguished museums in Europe—today encompassing three buildings and more than seven centuries of art history. Its collections range from medieval altarpieces to contemporary installations, with exceptional holdings in Northern Renaissance, modern, and postwar art. The museum’s Department of Prints and Drawings is world-renowned for its depth and scholarly significance, housing works from Hans Holbein and Pablo Picasso to Rosemarie Trockel and Kaari Upson. As a leading research institution, the Kunstmuseum Basel is at the forefront of provenance research, conservation, and curatorial innovation. Each exhibition builds on rigorous inquiry, bringing new insight to the art of the past and present alike. To support the Kunstmuseum Basel is to sustain a living legacy: a museum where history and experimentation meet, and where a public commitment to art—begun more than three centuries ago—continues to shape the cultural future.
