Property of the Berger Collection Educational Trust

C ontinuing from its success in 2016, Sotheby’s is proud to offer a number of properties from The Berger Collection Educational Trust in 2017 to benefit future philanthropy.

Both natives of Denver, William M. B. Berger and Bernadette Berger began their collecting activities in the 1990s with a passion that has rarely been matched. Over the course of just a few years, they amassed one of the most important collections of British Art in America, spanning over 600 years, as well as excellent examples of French, Italian and American paintings and drawings.

The Bergers were dedicated to using art as a vehicle for education: “We have always believed that art, as well as music, poetry, and literature, refreshes and enriches our lives.” In order to further their mission, they founded the Berger Collection Educational Trust. The Trust’s mission focuses on British Art, culture and history, and uses the collection that the Bergers created to further its goals. It has sponsored numerous exhibitions throughout the United States devoted to British painting, as well as being a major supporter of the British Art Journal. The Trust administers together with the Journal the highly prestigious William M. B. Berger Prize for British Art History, awarded for excellence in the field.