Art Dealer Rudolf Zwirner on What Starting a Family Empire in the 1960s Taught Him About How Dealers Can Survive the Pandemic Era
David, Lucas, and Rudolf Zwirner with Sylvester (2001) by Richard Serra, Glenstone, Potomac, Maryland, 2018. Courtesy David Zwirner Books. Let’s start at the beginning. What led you to open your art gallery and, eventually, the fair that became Art Cologne? After the Second World War, it was very empty in Germany. There were just about ten or 12 dealers after all the Jewish dealers had to leave the country—and most of the great dealers were Jewish. At the end of the war, there were fantastic people who came back into politics—really fabulous people who spent years and years away during...