User:Eli185/Jan A. Ahlers

Jan A. Ahlers (* December 22, 1934 in Oldenburg (Oldenburg); † December 31, 2013) was a German entrepreneur and art collector in Herford.

Life
Jan A. Ahlers was born the son of textile entrepreneur Adolf Ahlers. His brother is the entrepreneur Dirk Ahlers (* 1937).

After graduating from Friedrichs-Gymnasium in Herford, studying at the technical colleges in Mönchengladbach and Reutlingen and completing a commercial apprenticeship, Jan A. Ahlers began working for his father's company in 1959. After the death of his father in 1968, he took over the management of the family-owned Ahlers textile factory in Herford. He transformed the medium-sized manufacturer of workwear into an international menswear group with the brands Pierre Cardin, Otto Kern, Baldessarini, Gin Tonic, Jupiter, Pioneer Authentic Jeans, Pionier Jeans & Casuals and Pionier Workwear. In 1987, he took the company public as Ahlers AG. He was Chairman of the Management Board until 2002 and then Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board until May 7, 2013. From 2005 until the company's insolvency in 2023, his daughter Stella A. Ahlers managed the Group with its 2,200 employees.

Art collector
Ahlers wanted to study painting after leaving school. He was rejected at the art academy and became a textile merchant. Throughout his life, he was interested in art alongside his profession. He became acquainted with numerous artists, curators, dealers and other representatives of the art world. In his younger years, he was a frequent guest of Gabriele Münter, who had grown up in Herford; later he became friends with Bernhard Luginbühl, Dieter Roth and Daniel Spoerri, among others. In over 35 years, he amassed one of the largest and most complete private collections of Expressionism. He originally wanted to hand over his collection to the public.The collection could have been on permanent loan to the MARTa Herford museum, which opened in 2005 on a site formerly owned by the Ahlers company. However, as the museum and its founding director Jan Hoet only wanted to focus on contemporary art of the 21st century, Ahlers withdrew his offer. As a result, the then 66-year-old sold the collection of more than 100 works to the art dealers Christoph Graf Douglas (Frankfurt) and David Nash (New York) in 2001. Connoisseurs estimated a price of between 100 and 120 million German marks. Ahlers used part of the proceeds to purchase works by contemporary artists for his new collection, some of whom he knew personally.

Ahlers Pro Arte Foundation
In 1995, Jan A. Ahlers and his daughter Stella (* 1965) established the Ahlers Pro Arte Foundation in Herford. The foundation was based in Hanover from 1995 to 2016. In 2005, the foundation moved to Warmbüchenviertel in Hanover, Warmbüchenstraße 16. The Kestnergesellschaft was based in this historic building from 1948 to 1997. In the fall of 2016, the foundation moved into its own building near the company premises in Herford-Elverdissen. The last exhibition in the foundation's old premises took place from February 26 to June 26, 2016 (ZERO The Questioning of Reality).

In particular, the foundation's mission is to document and academically explore the influence of German Expressionist art on the further development of 20th century art in Germany and abroad.

In addition to the Foundation's own exhibition activities, works from the collection will be presented to the public through loans to exhibition venues, including the Sprengel Museum Hannover. Stella Ahlers said in April 2016 that the Hanover Foundation would remain connected via the cooperation agreement with the Sprengel Museum.

Other
Ahlers was last married to Kata Légrády (* 1974). He died unexpectedly on New Year's Eve 2013, shortly after his 79th birthday.

Weblinks

 * Webpräsenz der Stiftung Ahlers Pro Arte