Museum Ludwig, located in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany, houses a collection of

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

. It includes works from Pop Art, Abstract and

Surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

, and has one of the largest

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

collections in Europe. It holds many works by

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

and

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein ( ; October27, 1923September29, 1997) was an American pop artist. He rose to prominence in the 1960s through pieces which were inspired by popular advertising and the comic book style. Much of his work explores the relations ...

History

The museum emerged in 1976 as an independent institution from the Wallraf-Richartz Museum. That year the chocolate magnate Peter Ludwig agreed to endow 350 modern artworks—then valued at $45 million —and in return the City of Cologne committed itself to build a dedicated "Museum Ludwig" for works made after 1900. The recent building was designed by architects and and opened in 1986 near the

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...

. The new building was home to both the Wallraf Richartz Museum as well as Museum Ludwig. In 1994, it was decided to separate the two institutions and to place the building on Bischofsgartenstrasse at the sole disposal of Museum Ludwig. In 1999,

Steve Keene Steve Keene (born 1957) is an American painter known as a prolific creator of affordable art. Early life and education Originally from Charlottesville, Virginia, Keene earned a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and a MFA from Yale Univer ...

painted in the museum. The building is home to the

Kölner Philharmonie The Kölner Philharmonie is a symphonic concert hall located in Cologne, Germany. It is part of the building ensemble of the Museum Ludwig and was opened in 1986. The Kölner Philharmonie is located close to the Cologne Cathedral and the Köln ...

. The Heinrich-Böll-Platz, a public square designed by

Dani Karavan Daniel "Dani" Karavan (; 7 December 1930 – 29 May 2021) was an Israeli sculptor best known for site specific memorials and monuments which merge into the environment. Biography Daniel (Dani) Karavan was born in Tel Aviv. His father Abrah ...

, is above the concert hall at the north-east of the building. During concerts people are not permitted to walk on the square, as it creates acoustic disturbances for the concert-goers below. In 2016 the museum joined forces with the Bell Art Center to organize an unofficial retrospective of

Anselm Kiefer Anselm Kiefer (born 8 March 1945) is a German painter and sculptor. He studied with Peter Dreher and Horst Antes at the end of the 1960s. His works incorporate materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, and shellac. The poems of Paul Celan h ...

, which opened at Beijing’s

Central Academy of Fine Arts The Central Academy of Fine Arts or CAFA is an art academy under the direct charge of the Ministry of Education of China. The Manila Bulletin calls the school "China’s most prestigious and renowned art academy." It is considered one of the most ...

. The last stop on the tour in China was to be the new Jupiter Museum of Art in

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

, but a delayed museum opening caused the works to be put into storage. At this point the museum lost track of the pieces and began to search for them. In January 2020 they located the pieces in a warehouse in Shenzhen and attempted to retrieve the piece. They were stopped by Chinese authorities. Diplomatic action has been undertaken by the

German Government The Federal Government (, ; abbr. BReg) is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany and exercises executive power at the federal level. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers. The fundamentals o ...

, the City of

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

, and Kiefer himself, to secure the return of the pieces, which include the monumental work ''Pasiphae''.

Collection

The museum essentially incorporates the Sammlung Haubrich, a collection by lawyer

Josef Haubrich Josef Haubrich (15 June 1889, in Cologne – 4 September 1961, in Bad Münstereifel) was a German lawyer and art collector. Life On 2 May 1946 Josef donated the Sammlung Haubrich, a collection by lawyer of art from the years 1914 to 1939 to ...

of art from 1914 to 1939 donated to the city of

in May 1946. Directly after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in May 1946, Haubrich presented the city with his Expressionism collection (

Erich Heckel Erich Heckel (31 July 1883 – 27 January 1970) was a German people, German Painting, painter and printmaker, and a founding member of the group ''Die Brücke'' ("The Bridge") which existed 1905–1913. His work was part of the art competition ...

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (Karl Schmidt until 1905; 1 December 1884 – 10 August 1976) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker; he was one of the four founders of the artist group Die Brücke. Life and work Schmidt-Rottluff was born in R ...

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (6 May 1880 – 15 June 1938) was a German Expressionism, expressionist Painting, painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expr ...

August Macke August Robert Ludwig Macke (3 January 1887 – 26 September 1914) was a German Expressionist painter. He was one of the leading members of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider). He lived during a particularly activ ...

Otto Mueller Otto Melller (16 October 1874 – 24 September 1930) was a German painter and printmaker of the Die Brücke expressionist movement. Life and work Mueller was born in Liebau (now Lubawka, Kamienna Góra County), Kreis Landeshut, Silesia. ...

) and works by other representatives of Classical Modernism (

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

Otto Dix Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix (; 2 December 1891 – 25 July 1969) was a German painter and Printmaking, printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of German society during the Weimar Republic and the brutality of war. Alon ...

). The second integral part of the museum is the Sammlung Ludwig, a collection of art by

Russian avant-garde The Russian avant-garde was a large, influential wave of avant-garde modern art that flourished in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, approximately from 1890 to 1930—although some have placed its beginning as early as 1850 and its e ...

and American Pop-art artists. With around 900 works by Picasso, the museum today has the third largest collection of this artist worldwide, after

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Peter Ludwig and his wife Irene later put their collection of the Russian avant-garde on permanent loan to the museum, including 600 works from the period 1905 to 1935 by artists such as

Kasimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (

, Ljubov Popova,

Natalia Goncharova Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova (, ; 3 July 188117 October 1962) was a Russian avant-garde artist, painter, costume designer, writer, illustrator, and set designer. Goncharova's lifelong partner was fellow Russian avant-garde artist Mikhail Lariono ...

Mikhail Larionov Mikhail Fyodorovich Larionov (; – May 10, 1964) was a Russian avant-garde painter who worked with radical exhibitors and pioneered the first approach to abstract Russian art. He was founding member of two important artistic groups Knave ...

, and

Alexander Rodchenko Aleksander Mikhailovich Rodchenko (; – 3 December 1956) was a Russian and Soviet artist, sculptor, photographer, and graphic designer. He was one of the founders of constructivism and Russian design; he was married to the artist Varvara Stepa ...

. Today the museum houses the most comprehensive collection of early Russian avant-garde artworks outside Russia.

Works

Winter Landscape (Malevich, 1930).jpg,

Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (

, ''Landscape (of Winter)'', 1909 August Macke 005.jpg,

, ''Lady in a Green Jacket'', 1913 Last supper.jpg,

Gottfried Helnwein Gottfried Helnwein (born 8 October 1948) is an Austrian-Irish visual artist. He has worked as a painter, draftsman, photographer, muralist, sculptor, installation and performance artist, using a wide variety of techniques and media. His work is ...

, ''Last Supper'', 1987

Selected works of the collection

Pierre Alechinsky Pierre Alechinsky (; born 19 October 1927) is a Belgian artist. He has lived and worked in France since 1951. His work is related to tachisme, abstract expressionism, and lyrical abstraction. Life Alechinsky was born in Schaerbeek, Belgium, to ...

: ''Coupe sombre'' (1968). *

Josef Albers Josef Albers ( , , ; March 19, 1888March 25, 1976) was a German-born American artist and Visual arts education, educator who is considered one of the most influential 20th-century art teachers in the United States. Born in 1888 in Bottrop, Westp ...

: ''Green Scent'' (1963). * Peter Blake : ''ABC Minors'' (1955), ''Bo Diddley'' (1963). *

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

: ''

La Gare de Perpignan ''La Gare de Perpignan'' (''Perpignan Train Station'' also known as ''Pop-Op-Yes-Yes-Pompier'') is a c. 1965 large-scale oil on canvas painting by the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí, on display in the Museum Ludwig in Cologne. The railway ...

'' (1965). *

: ''Bildnis des Dr. Hans Koch'' (1921), ''Vorstadtszene'' (1922), ''Mädchen mit rosa Bluse'' (1923), ''Bildnis Frau Dr. Koch'' (1923). *

Richard Estes Richard Estes (born May 14, 1932, in Kewanee, Illinois) is an American artist, best known for his photorealist paintings. The paintings generally consist of reflective, clean, and inanimate city and geometric landscapes. He is regarded as one of ...

: ''Food Shop / Snack-bar'' (1967). *

: ''Nature morte à la peau de tigre'' (1908), ''Portrait de Larionov'' (1913), ''Vendeuse d'oranges'' (1916). *

Duane Hanson Duane Hanson (January 17, 1925 – January 6, 1996) was an American artist and sculptor born in Minnesota. He spent most of his career in South Florida. He was known for his life-sized realistic sculptures of people. He cast the works based on ...

: ''Woman with a Purse / Femme au sac en bandoulière'' (1974). *

Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, draftsman, and printmaker. Considered a central figure in the development of American postwar art, he has been variously associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and ...

: ''Untitled'' (1972). * Allen Jones : ''Figure Falling / Chute'' (1964), ''Perfect Match / Partenaire idéale'' (1966–1967). *

Edward Kienholz Edward Ralph Kienholz (October 23, 1927 – June 10, 1994) was an American Installation art, installation artist and assemblage (art), assemblage sculptor whose work was highly critical of aspects of modern life. From 1972 onwards, he assembled ...

: ''Night of Nights / Nuit des nuits'' (1961), ''The Portable War Memorial / Monuments aux morts portable'' (1968). * Jean Le Gac : ''Le Peintre aux scabieuses'' ''/ Der Maler mit Ackerwitwenblumen (1977).'' *

: ''Takka-Takka'' (1962), ''Mad Scientist / Le savant fou'' (1963), ''M-Maybe / P-Peut-être'' (1965), ''Explosion n° 1'' (1965), Study for ''Preparedness'' / Étude pour ''Disponibilité'' (1968) *

László Moholy-Nagy László Moholy-Nagy (; ; born László Weisz; July 20, 1895 – November 24, 1946) was a Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian painter and photographer as well as a professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by Constructivism (art), con ...

: ''Grau-Schwarz-Blau / Gris-Noir-Bleu'' (1920), ''Auf weissen Grund / Sur fond blanc'' (1923). *

Kenneth Noland Kenneth Noland (April 10, 1924 – January 5, 2010) was an American painter. He was one of the best-known American color field painters, although in the 1950s he was thought of as an abstract expressionist and in the early 1960s as a minimal ...

: ''Provence'' (1960), ''Shadow Line / Ligne d'ombre'' (1967). *

Claes Oldenburg Claes Oldenburg (January 28, 1929 – July 18, 2022) was a Swedish-born American sculptor best known for his public art installations, typically featuring large replicas of everyday objects. Another theme in his work is soft sculpture versions ...

: ''The Street / La rue'' (1960), ''Success Plant / Félicitations pour l'avancement'' (1961), ''White Shirt with Blue Tie / Chemise blanche et cravate bleue'' (1961), ''Green Legs with Shoes / Jambes vertes avec chaussures'' (1961) *

Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi was born on 7 M ...

: ''The Last of the Idols'' (1963). *

Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" or "Bob" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combine painting, Combines (1954� ...

: ''Odalisque'' (1955–1958), ''Allegory / Allégorie'' (1959–1960), ''Wall Street'' (1961), ''Black Market / Marché noir'' (1961), ''Axle / Axe'' (1964), ''Bible Bike (Borealis)'' (1991). *

Gerhard Richter Gerhard Richter (; born 9 February 1932) is a German visual artist. Richter has produced Abstract art, abstract as well as photorealistic paintings, photographs and Glass art, glass pieces. He is widely regarded as one of the most important con ...

: ''Ema (Akt auf einer Treppe) / Ema (Nude on a Staircase)'' (1966), ''48 Porträts / 48 Portraits'' (1971/72), ''Betty'' (1977), ''11 Scheiben / Eleven Panes'' (2003). *

James Rosenquist James Albert Rosenquist (November 29, 1933 – March 31, 2017) was an American artist and one of the proponents of the pop art movement. Drawing from his background working in sign painting, Rosenquist's pieces often explored the role of advert ...

: ''Rainbow / Arc-en-ciel'' (1961), ''Untitled (Joan Crawford says...) / Sans titre (Joan Crawford dit...)'' (1964), ''Horse blinders / Œillères pour cheval'' (1968–1969), ''Starthief / Voleur d'étoiles'' (1980). *

George Segal George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as '' Ship o ...

: ''Woman washing her Feet in a Sink / Femme se lavant les pieds dans un lavabo'' (1964–1965), ''The Restaurant Window I / La fenêtre du restaurant I'' (1967). *

Frank Stella Frank Philip Stella (May 12, 1936 – May 4, 2024) was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker, noted for his work in the areas of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction. He lived and worked in New York City for much of his career befor ...

: ''Seven Steps'' (1959), ''Ctesiphon III'' (1968), ''Bonin Night Heron No. 1'' (1976). *

Wolf Vostell Wolf Vostell (14 October 1932 – 3 April 1998) was a German painter and sculptor, considered one of the early adopters of video art and installation art and pioneer of Happenings and Fluxus. Techniques such as blurring and Dé-coll/age are ...

: ''Coca-Cola'', Dé-coll/age (1961), ''Homage to Henry Ford and Jaqueline Kennedy'' (1967), ''Miss America'' (1968). *

: ''Two Dollars Bills (Front and Rear) / 80 billets de deux dollars (recto et verso)'' (1962), ''129 Die in Jet (Plane Crash) / 129 morts (catastrophe aérienne)'' (1962), ''Close Cover before Striking (Pepsi-Cola) / Refermer avant d'allumer (Pepsi Cola)'' (1962), ''Do it Yourself (Landscape) / Modèle pour peintres amateurs(paysage)'' (1962), ''Two Elvis / Double Elvis'' (1963), ''Red Race Riot / Émeute raciale rouge'' (1963), ''Boxes / Boîtes'' (1964), ''Flowers / Fleurs'' (1964). *

Tom Wesselmann Thomas K. Wesselmann (February 23, 1931 – December 17, 2004) was an American artist associated with the Pop Art movement who worked in painting, collage and sculpture. Early years Wesselmann was born in Cincinnati. From 1949 to 1951 he atten ...

: ''Bathtub 3 / Baignoire 3'' (1963), ''Landscape No.2 / Paysage n° 2'' (1964), ''Great American Nude / Grand nu américain'' (1967).

Wolfgang Hahn Prize

Since 1994 the Friends of the Museum Ludwig have honoured each year an international artist with the ‘Wolfgang Hahn Prize’, presented during the city's art fair

Art Cologne Art Cologne is an art exhibition, art fair held annually in Cologne, Germany and was established in 1967 as ''Kölner Kunstmarkt''. It is regarded as the world's oldest art fair of its kind. The fair runs for six days and brings together galleries ...

. Both the annual highlight of the Friends' activities and one of the cultural features of Cologne and the Rhineland, this purchase prize is dedicated to the memory of Wolfgang Hahn (1924–1987), chief conservator and painting restorer at Wallraf Richartz Museum / Museum Ludwig and one of Cologne's most far-sighted collectors. The budget for the prize amounts to a maximum of 100,000 euros per annum. The museum also acquires a work from each prizewinner. An international jury chooses from the nominations submitted by the members. The Wolfgang Hahn Prize has been awarded to the following artists: * 1994 –

James Lee Byars James Lee Byars (April 10, 1932 – May 23, 1997) was an American conceptual artist and performance artist specializing in installations and sculptures, as well as a self-considered mystic. He was best known for his use of personal esoteric moti ...

* 1995 –

Lawrence Weiner Lawrence Charles Weiner (February 10, 1942December 2, 2021) was an artist born and raised in New York City. One of the central figures in the formation of Conceptual Art in the 1960s, Lawrence Weiner explored the potentials of language as a scu ...

* 1996 –

Günther Förg Günther Förg (5 December 1952 – 5 December 2013) was a German painter, graphic designer, sculptor and photographer. His style was influenced by American abstract painting.

* 1997 –

Cindy Sherman Cynthia Morris Sherman (born January 19, 1954) is an American artist whose work consists primarily of photographic self-portraits, depicting herself in many different contexts and as various imagined characters. Her breakthrough work is often co ...

* 1998 –

Franz West Franz West (16 February 1947 – 25 July 2012) was an Austrian artist. He is best known for his unconventional objects and sculptures, installations and furniture work which often require an involvement of the audience. Early life and ...

* 1999 –

Pipilotti Rist Pipilotti Elisabeth Rist, birth name ''Elisabeth Charlotte Rist'' (born 21 June 1962 in Grabs) is a Swiss visual artist best known for creating experimental video art and installation art. Her work is often described as surreal, intimate, abst ...

* 2000 – * 2001 –

Raymond Pettibon Raymond Pettibon (born Raymond Ginn, June 16, 1957) is an American artist who lives and works in New York City. Pettibon came to prominence in the early 1980s in the southern California punk rock scene, creating posters and album art mainly for g ...

* 2002 –

Isa Genzken Isa Genzken (born 27 November 1948) is a German artist who lives and works in Berlin. Her primary media are sculpture and installation, using a wide variety of materials, including concrete, plaster, wood and textile. She also works with photograp ...

* 2003 –

Niele Toroni Niele Toroni (born 15 March 1937 in Muralto) is a Swiss painter. He lives and works in Paris. Work In 1966 Toroni started a practice he calls "Travail-Peinture". Toroni's method, brushstrokes made with imprints of a no. 50 paintbrush repeated a ...

* 2004 –

Rosemarie Trockel Rosemarie Trockel (born 13 November 1952) is a German conceptual artist. She has made drawings, paintings, sculptures, videos and installations, and has worked in mixed media. From 1985, she made pictures using knitting-machines. She is a pro ...

* 2005 –

Richard Artschwager Richard Ernst Artschwager (December 26, 1923 – February 9, 2013) was an American painter, illustrator and sculptor. His work has associations with Pop Art, Conceptual art and Minimalism. Early life and art Artschwager was born in Washington, D. ...

* 2006 – Mike Kelley * 2007 – none awarded * 2008 –

Peter Doig Peter Doig ( ; born 17 April 1959) is a painter of Scottish nationality who has lived and worked between Trinidad, Canada, the USA, Germany and Britain. He settled in Trinidad with his family between 2002 and 2021, when he moved back to London. ...

* 2009 –

Christopher Wool Christopher Wool (born 1955) is an American artist. Since the 1980s, Wool's art has incorporated issues surrounding post-conceptual ideas. Early life and career Wool was born in Chicago, Illinois to Glorye and Ira Wool, a molecular biologist and ...

* 2010 –

Peter Fischli & David Weiss Peter Fischli (born 8 June 1952) and David Weiss (21 June 1946 – 27 April 2012), often shortened to Fischli/Weiss, were a Swiss artist duo that collaborated since 1979. Their best-known work is the film ''Der Lauf der Dinge'' (''The Way Things ...

* 2011 – John Miller * 2012 – Henrik Olesen * 2013 –

Andrea Fraser Andrea Rose Fraser (born 1965) is a performance artist, mainly known for her work in the area of institutional critique. Fraser is based in New York and Los Angeles and is a professor and area head of the Interdisciplinary Studio of the UCLA Scho ...

* 2014 –

Kerry James Marshall Kerry James Marshall (born October 17, 1955) is an American artist and professor, known for his paintings of Black figures. He previously taught painting at the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2017, Marshall ...

* 2015 –

Michael Krebber Michael Krebber (born 26 April 1954) is a contemporary German painter known for his conceptual approach to painting, often characterized by an emphasis on the medium's limitations, an engagement with art historical references, and a tendency tow ...

, R. H. Quaytman * 2016 –

Huang Yong Ping Huáng Yǒng Pīng (; February 18, 1954 – October 20, 2019) was a Chinese-French contemporary artist and one of the most well known Chinese avant-garde artists of his time. Born in Xiamen, he was recognized as the most controversial and provoca ...

* 2017 –

Trisha Donnelly Trisha Donnelly (born April 22, 1974) is an American contemporary artist who is particularly well known as a conceptual artist. Donnelly works with various media including photography, drawing, audio, video, sculpture and performance.Cotter, Suz ...

* 2018 –

Haegue Yang Haegue Yang (; born December 12, 1971) is a South Korean artist primarily working in sculpture and installation. After receiving her B.F.A from Seoul National University in 1994, Yang received an M.A. from Städelschule where she now teaches as ...

* 2019 – Jac Leirner * 2020 –

Betye Saar Betye Irene Saar (born July 30, 1926) is an American artist known for her work in the medium of Assemblage (art), assemblage. Saar is a visual storyteller and an accomplished printmaker. Saar was a part of the Black Arts Movement in the 1970s, w ...

* 2021 –

Marcel Odenbach Marcel Odenbach is a German video artist. In the 1970s, with Ulrike Rosenbach and Klaus vom Bruch, he formed the producer group ATV. Odenbach's works criticize the conditions of German society. Life and work Odenbach was born in 1953 in Cologne ...

* 2022 –

Frank Bowling Sir Richard Sheridan Patrick Michael Aloysius Franklin Bowling ''('' Richard Sheridan Franklin Bowling; born 26 February 1934), known as Frank Bowling, is a British artist who was born in British Guiana. He is particularly renowned for his larg ...

* 2023 –

Francis Alÿs Francis Alÿs (born 1959, Antwerp) is a Belgian-born, Mexico-based artist. His work emerges in the interdisciplinary space of art, architecture, and social practice. In 1986, Alÿs left behind his as an architect and relocated to Mexico City, ...

* 2024 – Anna Boghiguian

Directors

* 1978–1984: Karl Ruhrberg * 1984–1991: Siegfried Gohr * 1991–1997: Marc Scheps * 1997–2000: Jochen Poetter * 2002–2012:

Kasper König Rudolf Hans "Kasper" König (; 21 November 1943 – 9 August 2024) was a German museum director and curator. He curated exhibitions of works by Claes Oldenburg and Andy Warhol in the 1960s, initiated the ''Skulptur Projekte Münster'' in the 1970 ...

* 2012–2014: Philipp Kaiser * 2015–present: Yilmaz Dziewior

Nazi looted art

In 1999 the museum returned the painting ''Zwei weibliche Halbakte'' (''Two Female Nudes'' ) (1919) by

to the heirs of Dr. Ismar Littmann. In February 2000 the museum returned ''La Grappe de Raisins'' (1920) by

Louis Marcoussis Louis Marcoussis (born Ludwik Kazimierz Wladyslaw Markus or Ludwig Casimir Ladislas Markus; 1878 or 1883 – October 22, 1941) was a Polish-French avant-garde painter active primarily in Paris. Markus studied law in Warsaw before attending the Kr ...

(1883–1941) to the family of

El Lissitzky El Lissitzky (, born Lazar Markovich Lissitzky , ; – 30 December 1941), was a Soviet Jewish artist, active as a painter, illustrator, designer, printmaker, photographer, and architect. He was an important figure of the Russian avant-garde, h ...

and Sophie Lissitzky-Küppers. In 2013 the city of Cologne agreed that the Ludwig Museum should restitute six valuable drawings looted by the Nazis from the Jewish art collector

Alfred Flechtheim Alfred Flechtheim (1 April 1878 – 9 March 1937) was a German Jewish art dealer, art collector, journalist and publisher persecuted by the Nazis. Early years Flechtheim was born into a Jewish merchant family; his father, Emil Flechtheim, was a ...

to his heirs. The drawings are by

Karl Hofer Karl Christian Ludwig Hofer or ''Carl Hofer'' (11 October 1878 – 3 April 1955) was a German expressionist painter. He was director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. One of the most prominent painters of expressionism, he never was a me ...

Paula Modersohn-Becker Paula Modersohn-Becker (8 February 1876 – 20 November 1907) was a German Expressionist painter of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She is noted for the many self-portraits the artist produced, including nude self-portraits. She is conside ...

Ernst Barlach Ernst Heinrich Barlach (2 January 1870 – 24 October 1938) was a German Expressionism, expressionist sculptor, medallist, printmaker and writer. Although he was a supporter of the war in the years leading to World War I, his participation in th ...

Aristide Maillol Aristide Joseph Bonaventure Maillol (; December 8, 1861 – September 27, 1944) was a French sculptor, painter, and printmaking, printmaker.Le Normand-Romain, Antoinette . "Maillol, Aristide". ''Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online''. Oxford ...

and

Wilhelm Morgner Wilhelm Morgner (27 January 1891 – 16 August 1917) was a German Expressionist painter and graphic artist. Biography His father was a former military band musician who later became a railroad worker. His mother was artistically inclined and w ...

. The Ludwig Museum also agreed to restitute five drawings by

and

Georges Kars Georges Kars (Georges Karpeles or Georg Karpeles - Jiří Karpeles) (2 May 1880, other sources 1882 – 5 February 1945) was a Czech painter, part of the School of Paris movement, known for his landscapes and nude paintings. Life Georges Ka ...

to the heirs of

Curt Glaser Curt Glaser (May 29, 1879 (Leipzig) – November 23, 1943 (Lake Placid, New York, USA)) was a German Jewish art historian, art critic and collector who was persecuted by the Nazis. Life Glaser's parents, the businessman Simon Glaser (1841– ...

References

External links

Museum website (in English)
{{Authority control

Ludwig Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig von Koopa, a character in Mario (the game) Arts and entertai ...

Innenstadt, Cologne Art museums and galleries in Germany Modern art museums in Germany Museums in Cologne Former private collections 1976 establishments in West Germany Buildings and structures in Cologne