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The gallery owner shaped the museum's collection history with the "Block Beuys"
Gallery owner and art dealer Franz Dahlem on December 29, 2025 at the age of 87. With his death, the Hessian State Museum Darmstadt a figure who had a lasting impact on the museum's collection history since the late 1960s.
Pioneers for a globally unique collection
Franz Dahlem, born in 1938, initially worked as a gallery owner in Munich, where he championed artists who later achieved international renown. In 1966, he opened his own gallery on Ahastraße in Darmstadt. As an advisor to the collector Karl Ströher, Dahlem played a key role in bringing important works of contemporary art to Darmstadt.
Of particular importance was the acquisition of the so-called "Beuys Block." Dahlem facilitated the purchase of this group of works by Joseph Beuys , which initially came to the State Museum as a loan and was permanently acquired by the State of Hesse in 1989. While other parts of the Ströher Collection were later sold, the "Beuys Block" remained in Darmstadt and developed into an internationally outstanding and unique feature of the museum.
Closely connected until the very end
Without Franz Dahlem's passionate commitment, this globally unique group of works would not be part of the Darmstadt collection today. Even after the acquisition, he remained closely connected to the museum. He maintained contact with the institution until the last years of his life. An interview film, produced for the 2019 exhibition "Kraftwerk Block Beuys," impressively documents this long-standing connection.
The Hessian State Museum in Darmstadt will honor the memory of Franz Dahlem. The museum's thoughts are with his family.
(Darmstadt - Red/HLMD)
Featured image: Andy Warhol, Gerhard Bott and Franz Dahlem in the Beuys Block in 1971. Photo: Werner Kumpf, Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt
