Who is a collector? What is their role in art? There are several aphoristic answers: “Collectors are the hidden architects of art.” Or: “Through the practice of collecting, one seeks to overcome the world’s fragmentation and chaos.” Or: “The figure of the collector is central in the history of art.”

A major answer is offered by world-renowned museums that grew out of private collections -for example, the Guggenheim Museum and MoMA. Much of what we now call “great art” is, to a large extent, the product of choices made by collectors of the past.

In Tallinn, the Mikkel Museum - founded on a private collection - regularly opens its galleries to contemporary collectors, or rather to their holdings.

“Ülo Sooster: A View from Private Collections” was the title of the exhibition marking the artist’s centenary. It presented works from 17 private collections - not only prints and paintings but also the artist’s diaries and photographs.

The Sooster Foundation once again thanks all those who entrusted their works to curators and the public: your choices make new discoveries possible.

And of course, if you hold works by Ülo Sooster or materials/documents related to his life, the Sooster Foundation would be grateful to hear from you - for collaborative research and future projects.

Art does not travel through time on its own. People carry it.

René Magritte
“The False Mirror”, 1929
Collection of MoMA