Erika Billeter
Erika Billeter, was a German-born Swiss art historian, curator, writer, and museum director. She was a prolific author and specialized in writing and editing art exhibition catalogues. She was also known for her interests in Latin American art history.
Biography
Erika Billeter was born in 1927 in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. She attended the University of Cologne to study art history, followed by study at the University of Basel where she graduated with a PhD in 1960. She had emigrated to Switzerland in 1962, after marrying scholar. Her second marriage was to journalist.She served as a curator at the Kunstgewerbemuseum der Stadt Zürich from 1962 until 1968; curator at the Museum Bellerive in Zürich from 1968 to 1974; and deputy director of Kunsthaus Zürich from 1975 to 1981; then director at the Cantonal Museum of Fine Arts from 1981 to 1991. While working at the Cantonal Museum of Fine Arts, Billeter focused on the display of both regional and international artists including works by Joseph Beuys, Martin Disler, Christo, Leiko Ikemura, Francesco Clemente, Eric Fischl, Rolf Iseli, among others.
In 2000, Billeter was awarded the Bern State Prize, for her work in the service of culture.