The Swedish art dealer Jan-Erik Löwenadler. Photo: Lars Jakob
The art dealer Jan-Erik Löwenadler, who in the 1980′s played an important role in New York’s art world, took his own life in Nice in France at the end of July, according to a news report on the Swedish web news site Realtid.se. “He was a giant in the art world, and one of Sweden’s most successful and most internationally oriented art dealer,” writes Olle Wästberg, Chairman of The Thielska Gallery in Stockholm and Consul General to New York 1999-2004 and Director-General of the Swedish Institute 2005-2010.
Here is Olle Wästberg’s comment to the passing of Jan-Erik Löwenadler at the age of 74.
“He was a giant in the art world, and one of Sweden’s most successful and most internationally oriented art dealer.
Few people remember today how big he was in New York during the 1980’s, when he and Jeanette Bonnier ran the BonLow Gallery in SoHo, which at the time was the dominating art district. Löwenadler’s large home on Park Avenue functioned as a salon for artists and art investors.
He represented American artists like Rauschenberg, Warhol, Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns and Keith Haring, and played an important role in introducing them in Sweden.
”A bon-vivant who spoke many languages and had clients in many countries, Löwenadler made a splash on the New York scene in 1981”, wrote the American magazine ArtForum in its obituary.
Jan-Erik Löwenadler was one of the first Swedes who entered a same-sex partnership when this became a legal option in Sweden.
I met Jan-Erik Löwenadler long after his time in New York – although usually in New York, which he visited several times every year. He followed the New York art scene – even though he lately took an ever greater interest in the new Chinese art scene.”
Olle Wästberg is Chairman of the Board at the Thielska Gallery in Stockholm Sweden. He was Consul General of Sweden to New York 1999-2004, and Director-General at the Swedish Institute 2005-2010.
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