Art Collection and Artothek des Bundes

The collection of original artworks at the Department of Art History at the University of Innsbruck focuses on art from Tyrol in the second half of the 20th and early 21st century. It came into being after the Second World War and consisted of donations from the artists as well as a few selective purchases. The collection encompasses all genres of modern and contemporary art production (drawing, painting, sculpture, prints, photography, installation, new media, etc.) Starting in the interwar period with Albin Egger-Lienz and Ernst Nepo, almost all important Tyrolean artists after 1945, such as Max Weiler, Franz Lettner, Heinz Gappmayr, Anton Christian, Oswald Oberhuber or Gerhild Diesner, are represented.

In the 1980s, the Department of Art History was given the opportunity, within the framework of the annual art sponsorship purchases made by the federal government in Tyrol, to incorporate the works of art acquired in this way as permanent lending to the collection. The collection undergoes a permanent change through the annual new acquisitions; 2019 the collection contained 777 works. In addition, there are extensive bequests and gifts, such as those of Lois Hechenblaikner or Franz Lettner, as well as a central work by Lois Weinberger. The University was able to acquire Hubert Schmalix's studies and drawings for the large fresco on the ground floor of the Faculty of Humanities, and Peter Kogler's model of his work there has also been in the collection for a few years. A few works by artists without any connection to Tyrol, such as Flatz and Franz West, enrich the artistic spectrum.

The collection of original works of art is the most extensive on art after 1945 in Tyrol, alongside the collections of the Land of Tyrol and the Ferdinandeum. Stored in two depots of the Department of Art History, it represents a valuable treasure for the art and cultural history of Tyrol, which is scientifically researched and presented to the public in various formats.