Collection Würth acquires works from the collection Essl
Künzelsau/Vienna. The collection Würth acquires works from the collection Essl and thus complements its own collection. The selection was made in close cooperation with Prof. Karlheinz Essl and in coordination with the Albertina in Vienna, in whose care the works currently are.
The General Director of the Albertina, Prof. Dr. Klaus Albrecht Schröder, comments on it: “I’m glad that we found the Collection Würth as a buyer. The Albertina has been cooperating with the Collection Würth for years. Exhibitions and important loan exhibits were exchanged throughout the years.” The bundle consists of important works from Artists like Karel Appel, Georg Baselitz, Stefan Balkenhol, Tony Cragg, Asger Jorn, Alex Katz, Anselm Kiefer, Martin Kippenberger, Maria Lassnig, Arnulf Rainer or David Salle and complements the existing focus of the Collection Würth. The Acquisition was planned for a longer term and resulted from the relationship of the three institutions, who have maintained a lively communication for many years through the exchange of loan exhibits and the cooperation at exhibitions.
Meanwhile, the Würth Collection, the foundations of which were laid by Reinhold Würth in the 1960s, today comprises over 17,500 works of art. It mainly focuses on painting, graphic art and sculptures created in the time between the end of the 19th century and the present time. A special part of the collection is dedicated to the art of the late Middle Ages in the southwest and the Upper Rhine. The highlight of this part of the collection is the Virgin of Mercy by Hans Holbein the Younger, acquired in 2012, which is considered the main work of German Renaissance painting.
The Würth Collection is present with changing exhibitions at a total of 14 venues within the Würth Group as well as at selected locations worldwide. Austrian art has also been in the collector's mind since its founding days. Meanwhile, the Würth Collection unites the largest collection of Austrian art outside of Austria. The Austria reference of the Würth Collection also manifests itself in the exhibition program. For example, until April 2018, the art collections of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna will be exhibiting at the Kunsthalle Würth in Schwäbisch Hall under the title "Hidden treasures from Vienna". The "Kunstkammer Würth", which is also shown in excerpts as a permanent presentation in the Bode Museum in Berlin, will be on display in the summer in an exquisite selection in the Dom Quartier Salzburg. In Salzburg, the Würth Collection also owns the Walk of Modern Art and plays on the Würth Sculpture Park at Schloss Arenberg.
The works from the Essl Collection will also be made available to the public in exhibitions.
