Collection and Archive

Mon 10 am–12 noon
Tue 2 pm–4 pm
and by appointment

The ABK Stuttgart looks back on a history spanning more than 250 years, making it one of the oldest art colleges in Germany. It took on its current form in 1941 following the merger of the Academy of Fine Art with the School of Applied Arts and the Teaching and Experimental Workshops. Following the war-related destruction of the Art Academy’s buildings on Urbanstraße – which also saw the Academy’s collection and archive largely lost – the three institutions were brought together under one roof at the Weißenhof in 1946.

Since its foundation, the ABK Stuttgart has drawn on the royal collections as teaching and instructional materials; these collections remain the basis of the Staatsgalerie’s holdings to this day. The teaching and instructional materials of the School of Applied Arts, as well as the collection of plaster casts, were lost during the war. The donation of a pastel by Adolf Hölzel to mark the inauguration of the workshop building on the Academy’s grounds in 1972 marked the beginning of a collection programme focused on the history and present of the Academy. Since then, several thousand art objects have been acquired, documenting teaching and learning at the Academy.

The publication ‘250 Jahre Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart: Rücksichten; ein Lesebuch‘ (‘250 Years of the Stuttgart Academy of Fine Arts: Reflections; a Reader’) provides an overview of all the teaching staff and a brief history of the Academy and its predecessor institutions.

Inventory

Both units – the Art Collection and the Archive – are dynamic organisations which see themselves as key service providers, supporting external research, exhibition and study projects, whilst also being available to address internal academic enquiries and requests.

State Academy of Fine Arts, Stuttgart: Inventory, Stuttgart, [n.d.]. The inventory of the library and teaching materials collection of the Royal School of Applied Arts in Stuttgart, founded on 1 November 1869, documents the development of the institution’s holdings as well as all acquisitions up to the 1930s doi.org/10.11588/diglit.80135
Student records of the School of Applied Arts, provenance: Office of Student Affairs, 5,583 individual files, closed collection, period: c. 1900–1942
Personnel files, over 500 individual files, source: Human Resources Department, growing collection, period: c. 1900–1990, some of which are restricted
Poster collection, 2,700 items, provenance: printing workshops and, predominantly, the Design Departmant; a growing collection; period: 1950–present
Art collection, approx. 3,300 items, growing collection, period: approx. 1880–present
Collection of lithographs and prints from the ABK Stuttgart collection, approx. 1,000 sheets, complete collection, period: approx. 1950–1980
Estate of Prof. Erich Feyerabend, 180 items, provenance: the artist’s heirs, complete collection, period: 1920–1945
Part of the estate of Prof. Alexander Eckener, approx. 200 items, provenance: the artist’s heirs, complete collection, period: 1900–1940
Estate of Prof. Kurt Weidemann, approx. 60 linear metres of shelving, provenance: the artist’s heirs, complete collection, period: approx. 1930–2010
Estate of Prof. Sotirios Michou, approx. 16 linear metres of shelving plus approx. 300 CDs and 250 video tapes; provenance: the artist’s heir; complete collection; period: approx. 1970–2005
Estate of Prof. Eugen Funk, approx. 1,550 items, provenance: the artist’s heir, complete collection, period: approx. 1935–2000
Estate of Prof. F.H. Ernst Schneidler, approx. 24 linear metres of shelving, approx. 2,000 items, provenance: the artist’s heirs and permanent loans, closed collection, period: 1903–1955
Estate of Adolf and Albert Grimm, approx. 500 items, provenance: the artist’s heirs and permanent loans, closed collection, period: 1900–1960
Oscar Obier 1910–1950
Eva Zippel’s estate, approx. 20 linear metres of shelving, provenance: the artist’s heirs, complete collection, period: approx. 1960–2012. The catalogue raisonné is available at arthistoricum.net.