Collection

At Georg Kolbe’s request, his house was opened to the public after his death as a place to collect and enjoy his work. The Georg Kolbe Foundation was established in 1949 as the administrator of his legacy, and it is still the sponsor of the museum today. The sculptor bequeathed his house, his works, as well as his library, his archive, and his private art collection to the Foundation. Since 1978, the museum has also acquired works by Kolbe’s contemporaries. In addition to a considerable collection of figurative small sculptures from the first half of the 20th century, the museum also owns a large number of graphic works from this period. The museum’s research focuses on modernist sculpture as well as the care and processing of Georg Kolbe’s artistic and written estate, which is one of the most extensive artist’s estates in the history of sculpture. The museum is particularly concerned with the reappraisal of Kolbe’s ambivalent work during National Socialism.