History of the Ricola Collection

The Ricola shareholders in the Ricola Family Holding have been building up the Ricola Collection of contemporary art from Switzerland since 1975. Engaging with contemporary art and presenting these works in the company premises has long been a family tradition and an integral part of Ricola corporate culture. Basel-based architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron has designed seven different new building and renovation projects for Ricola on behalf of the Richterich family since 1983. The result: a collection of buildings that are unique around the world. The structures reflect the ongoing development of the architectural philosophy of Herzog & de Meuron over a small surface area, and uphold the quality standards that Ricola prioritizes across all areas of its business. For company founder Emil Richterich-Beck (1901–1973), who by establishing the Confiseriefabrik Richterich & Co. in 1930 made the leap from baker to manufacturer, it was only natural that success as an entrepreneur came hand in hand with responsibility for the social and cultural well-being of the community in which his company operated. When he began collecting in the 1940s, therefore, he gave preference to works by artists close to home, in other words from the Laufen Valley. He later expanded his collection to include major Swiss painters of the twentieth century. Richterich and his wife Rosa Richterich-Beck exhibited the works both in their own private home and in the business premises adjoining it at Baselstrasse 31 in Laufen. When Richterich died in 1973, his sons Hans Peter Richterich and Alfred Richterich and widow Rosa Richterich-Beck decided to set up a foundation in his memory, the Rosa & Emil Richterich-Beck Foundation, so that his cultural, social and charitable work might be perpetuated. This was done in 1975, the year in which the two sons also decided, at Alfred’s instigation, to build up a corporate art collection comprising works of art from Switzerland after 1950. Thus the Ricola Collection was born. The collection begins with works by Concrete artists from Zurich, includes important individual works from recent decades, especially in the area of painting related to pictorial theory, and continues up to the present and the youngest generation of artists in Switzerland. It is a manageable private collection specializing primarily in abstract painting, drawing and art photography. The third and fourth generation of the family of entrepreneurs maintains the collection to this day. Changing presentations within the company premises and a range of tours, lectures and publications for employees and interested members of the public are an integral part of its work.