Portrait of Adolphe Basler by Amedeo Modigliani (1916, Brooklyn Museum)
Adolphe Basler (born April 28, 1878, in Tarnów, Austria-Hungary; died January 6, 1951, in Paris) was a Polish-French author, gallery owner, art critic, art historian and collector.
Adolphe Basler came from a family of rabbis and innkeepers in Krakow. He initially studied chemistry in Zurich from 1896 before moving to Paris two years later, where he continued his studies at the Sorbonne.[1] There he met his compatriotMécislas Golberg, author ofLa morale des lignes, who introduced him to the fine arts and art criticism. He was a frequent guest at theCloserie des Lilas, in the circle aroundPaul Fort andGeorges Kars. In order to make a living, he worked as an art dealer in the field of modern art and was one of the first to acquire works byMoise Kisling. In the 1920s, he ran the Galerie de Sèvres, where he showed works byRaoul Dufy,Maurice Utrillo andOthon Coubine.[2][3]
Basler owned a number of works by his artist friends, such as the drawingsHead of a Young Girl andStill Life with Bottle and a Pot of Hyacinths[8] by Picasso. He was portrayed by Modigliani,[9]Béla Czóbel,Isaac Grünewald,Moïse Kisling[10] and Arvid Fougstedt, among others. A collection of Basler's essays, written in German, was edited by Rudolf Levy.[11]
Ulrich Wilke:Heinz Witte-Lenoir – Werkverzeichnis. Berichte von ihm und über ihn – Lehrer, Vorbilder und Weggefährten – Verzeichnis seiner Werke. Niebüll, Verlag videel o. J. (ca. 2003), ISBN 3-89906-669-3.
