Artur Walther
Artur Walther | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 9, 1948 Ulm, Germany |
| Occupation(s) | Art collector, curator, former investment banker |
| Years active | Late 1990s–present (collector) |
| Known for | The Walther Collection |
Artur Walther (born October 9, 1948) is a German-American collector focusing on contemporary photography and video art. A graduate of Harvard Business School, Walther was a General Partner at Goldman Sachs before retiring in 1994. He initiated his photography collection in the late 1990s and established The Walther Collection, which operates in Neu-Ulm, Germany, along with a Project Space based in New York City.
Early life and education
Walther was born in Ulm, Germany. He completed his studies at the University of Regensburg in 1975 and later obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1977.
Career
Walther’s professional path was rooted in international investment banking, where he was instrumental in developing one of Wall Street’s earliest teams dedicated to interest and currency swaps. He co-founded and served as co-chair of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, took on the role of co-head of Goldman Sachs’ global capital markets division in 1983, and played a foundational role in launching Goldman Sachs’ German operations.
Retirement
Upon retiring at 46, Walther redirected his attention toward architecture, design, and photography. He pursued studies at the International Center of Photography, learning from renowned artists such as Bruce Davidson, Mary Ellen Mark, Joel Meyerowitz, and Stephen Shore. During this time, he also developed connections with photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher. Inspired by concepts of typology and seriality, Walther began acquiring works by Neue Sachlichkeit photographers like August Sander and Karl Blossfeldt, along with industrial photography by the Bechers—these became foundational pieces within his collection.
Walther has contributed his expertise to committees at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Bard College, and Vassar College. Additionally, he has held board roles at the Storefront for Art and Architecture and the International Center of Photography. Serving as chair of ICP’s exhibitions committee in 2003, he played a key role in launching its Triennial of Photography and Video.
His involvement extends to contributing articles for Art Basel Magazine, participating in Art Basel’s Art Salon events, and curating exhibitions at Paris Photo as well as Les Rencontres d’Arles—where artists he nominated for the 2011 Discovery Award received top honors. In December 2011, Art+Auction magazine recognized Walther among its “Power 100.”
The Walther Collection
Beginning in the early 1990s, Walther broadened his collection to include photography and video art from Asia—especially China—and Africa. His holdings feature significant works by artists such as Ai Weiwei, Zhang Dali, Samuel Fosso, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, David Goldblatt, Seydou Keïta, Santu Mofokeng, J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, Wang Qingsong, Jo Ractliffe, Song Dong, Mikhael Subotzky, Guy Tillim, Malick Sidibé, and Zhang Huan.
In June 2010, Walther inaugurated The Walther Collection museum complex—a series of four buildings located in Neu-Ulm/Burlafingen, Germany—supported by the Walther Family Foundation. This institution fosters academic research through curated exhibitions and scholarly publications. Its first exhibition, Events of the Self: Portraiture and Social Identity, curated by Okwui Enwezor, presented three generations of African photographers alongside contemporary German photographic works.
The second annual exhibition titled Appropriated Landscapes (June 2011), curated by Corinne Diserens, examined themes such as conflict, migration, energy production, architecture, and memory within Southern African environments. The third exhibition, Distance and Desire: Encounters with the African Archive (June 2013), curated by Tamar Garb, juxtaposed late 19th- to early 20th-century photographs from Southern and Eastern Africa with modern artworks engaging archival narratives. Each exhibition was accompanied by catalogues published jointly with Steidl.
In April 2011, Walther opened a second site in New York City named The Walther Collection Project Space. This venue has hosted exhibitions featuring Jo Ractliffe, August Sander, Seydou Keïta, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, as well as the multipart series Distance and Desire. With a collection exceeding 1,400 pieces, The Walther Collection stands as one of the most comprehensive global repositories for contemporary Chinese and African photography.
Publications
- Enwezor, Okwui, Contemporary African Photography from the Walther Collection: Events of the Self: Portraiture and Social Identity, Göttingen: Steidl, 2010.
- Diserens, Corinne, Contemporary African Photography from the Walther Collection: Appropriated Landscapes, Göttingen: Steidl, 2011.
- Garb, Tamar, African Photography from The Walther Collection: Distance and Desire: Encounters with the African Archive, Göttingen: Steidl, 2013.
Further reading
- Feinstein, Jon, "Artur Walther May Have the Largest Collection of African Photography," Whitewall, February 1, 2013.
- Jobey, Liz, "Calm, Cool & Collected," The Economist: Intelligent Life, Winter 2010.
- Spears, Dorothy, "For Photos, Collector Casts a Global Net," The New York Times, October 23, 2011.
- Pontbriand, Chantal, "Artur Walther: Beyond Form and History," in Mutations: Perspectives on Photography, Göttingen: Steidl, 2011.
- Feltrin, Katia, "Les rencontres d'Artur Walther," Connaissance des Arts Photo, November 2011-January 2012.
- Fenkart-Njie, Claudia, and Ulrike Geist, Private Art Collections in Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart: Fenkart-Njie, Claudia, 2011.
- Walther, Artur and Tamar Garb: A Conversation, included in Garb (ed.), Distance and Desire: Encounters with the African Archive, Göttingen: Steidl, 2013.