For the first time in decades, the Osthaus Museum is presenting treasures from its print collection—ranging from Art Nouveau works and early modernist pieces from Germany to prints and drawings by the international avant-garde and contemporary artists.

The exhibition “von Kollwitz bis Richter. Schätze auf Papier aus dem Osthaus Museum” invites visitors on a journey through art history while also illustrating the unique history of the Osthaus Museum’s collection, which traces its origins to the Folkwang Collection of the museum’s founder, Karl Ernst Osthaus, from Hagen.

For the first time since the Folkwang Museum was sold to Essen, part of the graphic arts collection established by Osthaus is on display in Hagen, featuring works by Paul Signac, Edvard Munch, Henri Matisse, and Wassily Kandinsky. In addition to these earliest acquisitions, the exhibition focuses on watercolors, drawings, and prints from the Expressionist and New Objectivity movements.
Another key focus is on acquisitions from the early postwar period, when the Osthaus Museum presented the international avant-garde through works by Picasso, Miró, Chagall, and artists of the German and American Pop Art movements.
In addition to the “big names” of international art history, the exhibition features numerous discoveries from the museum’s graphic arts collection, including works of modern art that have never been shown before or have not been on display for decades.

The exhibition is made possible by funding from the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Friends of the Osthaus Museum.