The Essl Collection is one of the most important collections of Austrian art after 1945 and one of the most important collections of contemporary art in Europe. Austrian art is present in an incomparable breadth and depth and, due to the international orientation of the collection, is embedded in an international context that makes currents and cross-connections in the art scene comprehensible. It is therefore a special stroke of luck that Karlheinz and Agnes Essl have turned their generous favour to us and enriched the holdings of the Graphic Arts Collection with indispensable positions of contemporary art. With this brilliant expansion, not only has the stupendous connoisseurship of Mr. and Mrs. Essl been irrevocably inscribed in our holdings; it is also an incentive and obligation for us to continue, for the benefit and prosperity of the Graphic Arts Collection, the path we have been following for almost 200 years of making Tyrolean and Austrian art in an international orientation aesthetically tangible for our visitors (Dr. Ralf Bormann).
Under the title "In Obhut genommen - Taken into Care", the Graphic Arts Collection presents a selection of modern and contemporary graphic art. The works were donated to the Tyrolean Regional Museums by the private collection of Karlheinz and Agnes Essl. Works by Georg Baselitz, Martha Jungwirth, Peter Kogler, Jonathan Meese, Hermann Nitsch, Neo Rauch, Martin Schnur, Markus Vallazza and many other German-speaking artists promise a varied tour.
