Hedy Hahnloser-Bühler

Hedwig (Hedy) was born 5 February 1873 in Winterthur was the second of four children of Carl and Ida Bühler-Blumer, a strict industrialist family in Winterthur which operated spinning mills. In 1889, Hedy entered the drawing school for industry and commerce in St. Gallen. She married Arthur Hahnloser, an ophthalmologist, on 24 October 1898. They moved into the "Villa Flora" in Winterthur, which was already in the family possession of the Bühlers and set up an eye clinic. Hedy Hahnloser-Bühler assisted her husband in running the practice. In 1899 and 1901, their son Hans and daughter Lisa were born. • Illustration — «Villa Flora» in Winterthur She also worked as an artisan, and gathered people interested in monument preservation and architecture to exchange ideas. Attendees included Robert Rittmeyer (architect), Jules de Praetere (director of the Zurich School of Applied Arts), Richard Bühler (Hedy Hahnloser-Bühler's cousin) and others. They replaced the board members of the Kunstverein Winterthur with people from their circles at the general assembly of 1907. The Hahnlosers collected art. In 1908 they traveled to Paris, where they befriended the painters Felix Vallotton, Odilon Redon, Pierre Bonnard and others. In Switzerland they collected works by Ferdinand Hodler, Giovanni Giacometti and many other artists. In 1909, Hedy Hahnloser-Bühler was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis. After World War I, she purchased the "Villa Pauline" in Cannes. The climate had a positive effect on Hahnloser-Bühler's illness, and there was a thriving art scene. They expanded their art collection. On 17 May 1936, Arthur Hahnloser died of a heart attack in Cannes. Hedy Hahnloser-Bühler died 9 May 1952 in Winterthur at the age of 79. The collection of paintings was made accessible to the public as a museum in the "Villa Flora" by her descendants and transferred to a foundation.

Hahnloser-Bühler had a great influence on the couple's collecting activities. As a patron of the arts, she commissioned several portrait paintings of herself and her children. Through self-study, she developed into a respected art expert and published many art reviews in magazines and newspapers. Paintings in their collection included works by Henri Matisse, Felix Valloton, Edouard Vuillard, Pierre Bonnard, Odilon Redon, Ferdinand Hodler and others.