What drives people to collect art? And which paths lead them there?
In our series Private View: Conversations with Collectors, art collectors share the personal stories behind their collections: What first sparked their interest in art? Which works have stayed with them over the years? And how do artists, society, and life itself shape their collections?

In this interview, Dirk Lehr speaks about his early encounters with art, the legal grey areas within the art system, and why, for him, artistic freedom is inseparable from responsibility.

Mr. Lehr, you bought your first artwork while you were still a student. Do you remember what drew you to that particular piece — and how your understanding of art has evolved since then?
Yes, I remember it very well. It was a lithograph by Salvador Dalí — and it mattered to me that he was still alive at the time. I remain deeply connected to his surreal visual worlds. He was a remarkable artist, even if he is often dismissed as kitsch.
I held the print up to the light back then and noticed how the pigment “sits” on the paper. That experience fundamentally shaped my understanding of art: an image is only a reproduction — unless it is an original.

As a lawyer, author, and podcaster, you are closely connected to the art world. How does this variety influence your relationship to art — and vice versa?
That kind of 360-degree perspective keeps my curiosity alive. My different activities push me to engage with things I might otherwise never encounter — which I consider a great enrichment. At the same time, such an intense engagement with the art world can occasionally be disillusioning.

Was there a moment when you realized you wanted to engage more actively in debates about the structures of the art world?
In fact, that began at the same time as my very first art purchase. Even in school, I was the one who constantly talked about art. I even organized trips to exhibitions — to the Kunstmuseum Basel or the Museum Ludwig — and gave guided tours there. It became clear to me early on how strong the interest in art mediation was, including in the mechanisms of the market. Shortly after finishing my studies, I began to publish. As a lawyer, one gains access to these topics more easily. From that point on, collecting, writing, and speaking about art went hand in hand.

You focus extensively on copyright, cancel culture, and the public domain. What motivated you to examine these topics more closely?
In copyright law, I encounter the same questions again and again — from artists, galleries, rights holders, and private individuals. There is a great deal of misinformation, misunderstanding, and wishful thinking. I wanted to counter that.
Artistic freedom is non-negotiable for me. It is an essential part of democratic opinion formation. In recent years, however, we’ve seen tendencies to restrict art — through the renaming of works in state-run museums, the removal of artworks from university or ministry foyers and exhibitions, or even calls for their destruction. It felt necessary to me, also as a collector, to address this form of cancel culture publicly.

Which questions do you encounter most frequently in your legal and collecting practice — and where do you see the greatest need for information within the art system?
For artists, the most common questions concern their relationships with galleries and whether they may use the works of others in creating their own. As AI becomes increasingly relevant, many now worry that their works might be used to train such systems without their knowledge.
For collectors, the questions usually revolve around buying, selling, and inheriting art.
I see the greatest need for information among artists, as legal and economic topics are still not part of their formal training. And among those who wish to become buyers — there is considerable uncertainty about quality and pricing.

How do you understand the responsibility of collectors — and which developments have most significantly changed the art market in recent years?
Collectors are important actors within the art system — not only economically through purchases and loans. Collecting art goes beyond ownership. One becomes an ambassador for “one’s” artists and bears responsibility for mediation and public discourse.
A key development is the normalization of online sales. It has become entirely commonplace to buy or sell artworks solely on the basis of image files. This almost unconditional acceptance of digital transactions has fundamentally transformed the art market.

Since November 23, 2025, you have been presenting your new exhibition “I’ve never been afraid of beauty!” at the Mannheimer Kunstverein. What does this statement mean to you, and in what way did this theme shape your selection of works?
It reflects my fundamental attitude toward art. In the art world, there are voices that dismiss works which are more immediately accessible as lacking intellectual depth — painting included, which is often disparagingly referred to as “flat work.” For some, only what is austere, resistant or highly experimental seems to count. I find that baffling. I have never had a problem with beauty. An artwork is allowed to be beautiful. And that has nothing to do with decoration, which does not interest me at all.
For the exhibition in Mannheim, I wanted to show works that mirror my own biography — from my birth decade, the 1960s, to the present. In a way, it is a biography told through images.

Where do you draw inspiration from — between your legal practice, writing, podcast, and collecting?
The stories that the art world and the market generate — that is the fuel that drives my inspiration. At the moment, I am particularly preoccupied with Appropriation Art. I dedicated a chapter to it in one of my books. It is long overdue to take it out of its legal grey area and recognize it as an independent artistic form.

Can you imagine developing new focus areas in your publications or podcast?
Yes. I would like to go live — for example, in the form of a talk format.

Three pieces of advice for young collectors?
Visit as many museums, galleries, and fairs as possible — look and compare. It’s the only way to recognize and understand relevant art.
Don’t buy with your ears. Don’t let yourself be guided by hype or the “next big thing.”
Set a budget. It makes decisions easier and protects you from disappointment.

Dirk Lehr 
Founder
Dirk Lehr Collection

✉️ dirklehrcollection@gmail.com
📸 IG: dirklehrcollection