Eduard von der Heydt was the son of banker, collector and philanthropist August von der Heydt (1851-1929), who established the Musée d'Elberfeld (from 1961 called the von der Heydt Museum) with his collection of modern art, Dutch 17th paintings, medieval sculpture and graphics. Eduard followed his father's career and as a banker travelled internationally and ceated his own art collection. In 1927 he had a villa built on Monte Verità in Ascona, Switzerland, in which he housed his collection. At his death, the collection was donated to the Musée d'Elberfeld-Wuppertal and the Musée Rietberg in Zurich. He left the villa on Monte Verità, its furnishings and a collection of prints to the Swiss Canton de Tessin.
Bibliography
1932
Von Cohn, Wilhelm, and Eckart von Sydow. Sammlung Baron Eduard von der Heydt. 2 vols. Berlin, 1932.
1952
"Eduard von der Heydt sum 70. Geburtstag." Schriften des Museums Rietberg Zürich. 2 (September 1952).
1953
Wild, Doris. "Zwei Sammlungen in Ascona: Villa Bernardo und Monte Verità." Das Kunstwerk 7, Heft 6 (1953):33-34.
1955
Briner, E. "Die Sammlung Eduard von der Heydt im Museum Rietberg." Atlantis 27 (1955):111-112.
1959
Heydt, Eduard von der, and Werner von Rheinbaben. Auf dem Monte Verità. Erinnerungen und edanken über Menschen, Kunst un Polotik. Zurich, 1959
1998
Zaza-Sciolli, Lidia. "La Collection del Barone Eduard von der Heydt ad Ascona." Die Kunst zu Sammeln. Schweizer Kunstsammlungen seit 1848. Zurich, 1998: 251-260.
