Focus on German and French graphic art and sculpture drawings
Two years after Kunsthalle Mannheim was founded, the Graphic Art Cabinet was opened. Like the collection concept for painting and sculpture, the initial focus here was on 19th century German and French graphic art. The basic stock comprised the estate of Mannheim court painter Carl Kuntz. In addition, there were original works from the Romantic period and the Düsseldorf and Munich schools of painting. Increasingly, contemporary graphic art of Expressionism, New Objectivity and other international trends became the focus of the collection activities. In 1926, the Kunsthalle took over the approximately 23,000 sheets in the Anton von Klein collection, thus expanding its collection profile into the early modern period. Under Nazi dictatorship, 466 works on paper were confiscated as "degenerate". After the Second World War, acquisition policy concentrated on graphic art of the Informel, as well as sculptural drawings. Today, the Mannheim collection comprises around 34,000 sheets. A special focus of its new acquisitions is on sculptural drawings.