Foundation council
Foundation council president
Dr. iur. Lukas Breunig-Hollinger, Hausen
Vice-president and treasurer
Stefan Bräm, Baden
Foundation council members
Markus Auer, Baden
Dr. phil. Zuzana Häfeli-Sonin, Lupfig
Steffi Kessler, Baden
Dominik Lang, Zürich
Iva Marelli, Baden
Emanuel Schoop, Baden
Dr. Barbara Stark, Salenstein
In 1990, the last will and testament of John Alfred Brown (1900–1987), one of Sidney and Jenny Brown’s three sons who, like his two brothers Sidney Hamlet (1898–1970) and Harry Frank (1905–1972), died childless, made it possible to set up a museum of Impressionism and living in the Villa Langmatt.
In accordance with the provisions of his will, the city of Baden instituted the Langmatt Museum as a private foundation. In memory of his parents, who built the house 1900-1901 and accumulated their private impressionist art collection mainly between 1908–1919, John A. Brown named this foundation the «Stiftung Langmatt Sidney und Jenny Brown».
In 1851, the founder’s grandfather, an Englishman named Charles Brown (1827–1905), joined the firm Gebrüder Sulzer in Winterthur, which developed into one of the most important manufacturers of machinery in Switzerland, as an engineer. The founder’s father, the engineer Sidney William Brown (1865–1941), worked as technical director and served as a delegate of the Swiss board of directors for Brown Boveri & Cie (BBC) in Baden until 1935. Brown, Boveri & Cie had been founded in 1891 by Sidney William’s brother, Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown (1863–1924), and his partner, Walter Boveri (1865–1924). Sidney Brown stepped down from BBC’s Board and formally retired from the company in 1935 at the age of 70.
In the 20th century, BBC developed into a leading company in the field of electrical engineering. In 1988, the firm merged with the Swedish firm Asea to form the ABB company.
Sidney William Brown was married to the art-minded Jenny Sulzer (1871–1968), daughter of the senior partner of the Winterthur firm Gebrüder Sulzer. As a result of his inheritance and his professional success, he accumulated significant wealth early in the 20th century, enabling Sidney and Jenny to realize their vision for the important art collection now housed in trust for the public at the Museum Langmatt, the historic site of their former family home.
The foundation’s purpose
Based on the testamentary disposition of John A. Brown (1900–1987), in 1988 the city of Baden, as sole inheritor, set up the Stiftung Langmatt Sidney und Jenny Brown, with the purpose of making the Villa Langmatt, the park, and the associated collections of the Brown family accessible to the public.
§ 4 of the deed of foundation formulates the foundation’s purpose:
«The purpose of this foundation is: a) to preserve the Villa Langmatt, with its park and art collections, for the city of Baden and to make them accessible to the public; b) to honour the memory of the founding Brown family and to present the foundation’s property as they would have wished, c) to promote the understanding of art and cultural activities in the city, the region, and the canton, and, d) to preserve valuable artwork and to promote understanding of art among the general public.»
Annual reports
In addition to numbers and facts on exhibitions and events, the annual reports also cover loans and special projects.