Thyssen-Bornemisza, Hans

Hans Heinrich was born on April 13, 1921 in the family of the wealthy businessman Heinrich Thyssen and his first wife Margit, Baroness Bornemisza de Cason and Imperfalva. The state of the Thyssen family was based on the production of iron and weapons. After the death of his father, Hans Heinrich inherited a large business empire, which by that time included shipyards and oil wells, and an extensive collection of paintings by European masters of the 14th – 19th centuries. Fifteen years after the death of his father, he bought his first painting for the collection: a watercolor sketch of Emil Nolde , dated between 1931 and 1935. Since then, the Thyssen collection has been replenished with paintings of the twentieth century ^{[2] by} such authors as Pablo Picasso , Edgar Degas , Pete Mondrian , Fernand Leger . Hans Henry gave preference to the German expressionists . In total, he acquired more than 1,500 paintings in his entire life ^[3] .

In 1992, Hans Heinrich opens the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, exhibiting his collection there, and after another year sells it to the Spanish government.

Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza died on April 16, 2002 in the Catalan city of Sant Feliu de Guixols , Spain ^[4] . He is buried in a family crypt at Landsberg Castle in the Ruhr Valley, near the city of Essen, Germany.

First marriage

The first wife of Baron Thyssen was the Austrian princess Teresa Lippe-Weissenfeld (July 21, 1925 - July 16, 2008). She came from an ancient family of ruling German princes . The wedding took place in Lugano on August 1, 1946 . The spouses had one son

• Baron Georg Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza de Cason (born March 19, 1950 , Lugano).

The couple divorced on May 14, 1954.

Second marriage

The baron entered into a second marriage on June 23, 1954 with a model of Indian origin Nina Sheila Gyor, the heiress of large lands in Ceylon . The couple did not have children, they divorced on July 4, 1956. As a compensation, Gyor received a chateau in France.

Third marriage

The third wife was the British model of New Zealand origin, Fiona Francis Elaine Campbell-Walter (born June 25, 1932). The wedding took place in Lugano on September 17, 1956 . Two children were born in the marriage:

• Baroness Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza (born June 7, 1958, Lausanne ), a contemporary art collector, married Archduke Karl von Habsburg , heir to the Austrian crown.
• Baron Lorne Thyssen-Bornemisza de Cason, producer and director.

The couple divorced on January 20, 1965.

Fourth Marriage

The fourth wife of the baron was Liana Denise Shorto (born December 23, 1942, Garza , São Paulo ), the daughter of a Brazilian banker. The wedding took place in Lugano on December 13, 1967 . One son was born in marriage:

• Baron Wilfried Alexander Augustus Thyssen-Bornemisza de Cason (born 1974, Zurich).

The couple divorced on November 29, 1984.

Fifth marriage

The fifth marriage was in the village of Daylesford, Gloucestershire , on August 16, 1985 . The bride was Maria del Carmen Rosario Server (born April 23, 1943, Sitges , Barcelona ), Miss Spain, 1961. The couple did not have their children, but Hans Heinrich adopted her son Borhu Alejandro and gave him his surname.

• Official Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum Website