An exhibition full of masterpieces
The Albertina's permanent collection includes art by quite a few modern and contemporary masters, such as Monet, Degas, Picasso, Magritte and Miró. Drawings in the graphic collection are by Michelangelo, Dürer or Raphael, but also by Austrian artists, including Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt, Gottfried Helnwein and Valie Export.The origins of the impressive art collection
The Albertina received its name in 1921, when the building and its art collection became the property of the newly founded Republic of Austria. The collection is named after Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen, who received a large part of the art collection as a gift from a Genoese count in 1776. He eventually laid out the ever-growing collection in such a way that it traced the development of European art from the late Middle Ages. When he died in 1822, the collection already included 14,000 drawings and 200,000 prints. While today mainly impressionist and modern art is exhibited, the drawings and prints still form the basis of the collection.Second location: Albertina modern
Since 2020, the Albertina modern displays contemporary artworks on more than 2,000 m² (21,500 ft²). The museum's second location in the historic Künstlerhaus Wien is a 10-minute walk away on Karlsplatz and features contempurary works by artists like Erwin Wurm, Andy Warhol, Georg Baselitz, and Maria Lassnig.Location next to Vienna
But the Albertina modern was not the end of the museum’s renewal efforts. In 2022, the Albertina announced its next branch in Klosterneuburg. Since the collection has grown so quickly, the decision was made to open this third location called Albertina Klosterneuburg Essl Museum. The Lower Austrian municipality adjoins Vienna directly to the north on the eastern bank of the Danube and is quickly accessible by train.