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The unique Block Collection

The Block Collection, with over 1,100 works of art, is one of the most important private collections of figurative art in northern Germany. The Block Collection, comprising over 1,100 works, has been created through purchases from the exhibitions in the Galerie im Elysée and it has been supplemented with large-format commissioned works and further acquisitions. Hotel owners Eugen and Christa Block make these artworks accessible to everyone at all times in the Grand Elysée Hamburg’s public areas, foyers, corridors and restaurants.

This collection, with its focus on regional representational painting of the 20th and 21st centuries, provides deep insights into the history of north German painting from the past century to the present - from the Secession of Hamburg to the north German Realists and through to up-and-coming artists. Moreover, the Block Collection includes contemporary graphics, sculptures, glasswork and photographs.

Ölgemälde mit verschiedenen Menschen und verschiedenen Emotionen

“This high-quality collection has been assembled with understanding, ambition and expertise. It displays identity, profile, urgency and museum quality in its entirety. Within the art world of Hamburg and far beyond, it is a surprising jewel. It is well worth discovering.”

Dr. Friedhelm Häring, art historian with a focus on museology and long-standing director of the Oberhessisches Museum in Gießen, Germany

Einige Personen stehen in der Natur und malen mit Pinseln die Umgebung nach

Commissioned works

Art in the hotel - the hotel in art: Around 100 commissioned works deal with different spatial and thematic situations of the five-star hotel. Christa Block, along with the artists themselves, has been developing concepts to meet the requirements of the venue concerned, as well as holding competitions, organising symposia and accompanying their implementation. The two opposite friezes “Ein Reigen” (Round Dance) by Friedel Anderson and “Ball der Kunst” (The Artists’ Ball) by Hinnerk Bodendieck in the galleries of the Grand Foyer, “Die Lobby” (The Lobby) by Silke Meyer in the lobby staircase and the “Paradiesbrunnen” (Paradise Spring) by Bernd Altenstein in front of the main entrance are impressive examples of this collaboration.

Publications

Bildband der Sammlung Block im Grand Elysée Hotel Hamburg

Collection Block catalogue of works

Over 288 pages, the catalogue of works provides an insight into the remarkable Block Collection. It displays 800 exhibits, and the inventory at the back of the book also contains all the works from the collection with their current locations in the exhibition.

Format: Hardcover
Year of publication: 2015
Number of pages: 288
Price: €22.00

Ein Buch zum Malen, Kochen und Genießen

With all the senses

About painting, cooking and enjoyment

The 140-page artist’s book on the “Mit allen Sinnen: The Art & Cuisine Project at the Grand Elysée” exhibition at the Galerie in the Elysée from 19 November 2012 to 17 February 2013. In addition to paintings by Hinnerk Bodendieck and Friedel Anderson, as well as photographs by Michael Zapf, it contains kitchen secrets and recipes of culinary classics from the Grand Elysée.

Format: Hardcover
Year of publication: 2012
Number of pages: 130
Price: €22.00

Das Buch LebensWerke

To mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Block House restaurants, Christa Block invited artists Tobias Duwe, André Krigar and Meike Lipp on an ‘artistic journey’ through the family business. The voyage undertaken by the three painters begins on the cattle pastures, continues via the butcher’s shop and the Block House restaurants and ends - after many more stopovers - in the Block family’s garden. The artists were shown around the business by the people who work there, recording their own impressions directly on site, in the open air. Accompanying them was photographer Michael Zapf, whose camera documented their activities. The more than eighty works that evolved during the journey provide an artistic view of the diversity of the Block family business, the life’s work of Eugen Block.

Format: Hardcover
Year of publication: 2018
Number of pages: 192
Price: €19.69

All the publications can be ordered from us. To do so, please contact 
Mrs. Meike Woermann:
+49 (0)40 41 41 2-825
meike.woermann@grand-elysee.com