Swiss art trader Ernst Beyeler, who became renowned for one of the most impressive international collections of 20th century art, has died at the age of 88.

Beyeler, the son of a Swiss railway employee, became a widely respected art patron after World War II by acquiring hundreds of works by Pablo Picasso, Paul Cezanne, Claude Monet, Henri Matisse and others.

Mr. Beyeler and his wife created the Beyeler Foundation in 1982 and commissioned Renzo Piano to design a museum, the Fondation Beyeler, to house their private collection. The museum, in Riehen, has some 220 works.

Mr. Beyeler helped found Art Basel, an art fair that, together with his gallery and museum, helped make modest Basel an international art center.

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