Sylvio Perlstein, the Belgian art collector and jeweller, has died at the age of 94 in Antwerp, where he was born in 1931. Perlstein fled the Nazis with his Jewish family to Brazil as an infant, later returning to Antwerp to run the family diamond business while building a world-class collection of 20th-century avant-garde art. He acquired works by Surrealists such as René Magritte and Marcel Broodthaers, and became a major collector of Man Ray, amassing a wall of 100 photographs by the artist. His collecting philosophy centered on the Portuguese word "esquisito," meaning weird, strange, or different, rather than conventional beauty.
Perlstein's death marks the passing of one of the last great collectors who personally knew many of the defining figures of modern art, from Yves Klein to Sol LeWitt. His collection, built through personal relationships with artists and dealers across Antwerp, Paris, and New York, represents a vital link to the transatlantic networks that shaped 20th-century art. His story also highlights the resilience of Jewish émigré collectors who rebuilt their lives and legacies after World War II, making his life and collection a testament to both survival and connoisseurship.