Ryoei Saito

Ryoei Saitō (Japanese齐藤 了 英; born April 17, 1916 in Shizuoka Prefecture, † 30 March 1996) was a Japanese entrepreneur and art collector.

He was honorary president of the Japanese paper company Showa Dai. Saitō died at the age of 79 of a stroke.

Saitō collected art in a big way. To his collection include two of the 10 most expensive paintings ever sold currently, Bal au moulin de la Galette by Renoir (acquired on 17 May 1990, 78.1 million U.S. dollars) and Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Van Gogh (acquired on 15. May 1990, the then-record sum of 82.5 million U.S. dollars )

For Saito uncertainty caused by the acquisition of the painting Portrait of Dr. Gachet by the statement in 1991: " Selects the picture in my coffin when I die ." Condition and location of the image are not since known.

The collection Saitō Ryōeis is located in Tokyo.