Bechtler on the Bechtler Charlotte Business Journal
First lesson for any museum-goer: Never touch the art. Unless, of course, your family paid for the art.
If you’re Andreas Bechtler, wandering around the $20 million uptown museum bearing your family’s name, you walk right up to a bronze sculpture of a horse by Marino Marini, offer a quick pat or two, and shake your head.
“This is Marini,” he says. “You’re not supposed to touch it, of course.”
After taking a second glance at Marini’s sculpture, Bechtler remembers his three daughters playing on it years ago. “This is from my children” jumping on the sculpture, he says pointing to some nicks in the bronze.
Bechtler has enjoyed an exciting ride of his own during the past decade, emerging from his private retreat at Mountain Island Lake to become the face of the city’s ambitious cultural metamorphosis. From big names (Warhol, Picasso and Miro, among others) to bold architecture (Swiss architect Mario Botta’s terra cotta building surrounds an airy, sleek interior), the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art is considered by many as the star attraction in the newly minted South Tryon Street cultural campus.
In exchange for the city paying to build the museum on uptown property included in a Wells Fargo & Co. development, Bechtler donated 1,400 paintings, sculptures and other works by 20th century artists. Nearly 10% of the collection can be seen in the museum’s first exhibit. Bechtler guaranteed the city a collection worth at least $20 million for the museum. Independent appraisers, including representatives from Sotheby’s, confirmed the value of the artwork met that threshold. Recent additions pushed the total value past $40 million.
