The Nationalgalerie of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (National Museums in Berlin) owns one of the world’s pre-eminent collections of twentieth-century art. The Neue Nationalgalerie is currently researching its collection of post-1945 works over the course of a multi-year research project.

The Nationalgalerie’s post-war collection includes works from West Germany and East Germany, Western Europe, and the USA. It encompasses key artworks by the groups Cobra and SPUR, as well as ZERO, Art informel, Pop Art and Minimal Art, and US-American colour field painting. The represented artists include Josef Albers, Joseph Beuys, Francis Bacon, Ronald Bladen, Lee Bontecou, Fritz Cremer, Rebecca Horn, Valie Export, Wolfgang Mattheuer, Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Louise Nevelson, Gerhard Richter, Bridget Riley, Willi Sitte, and Werner Tübke.

This research project, which has received generous support from the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung since the spring of 2022, focuses primarily on works owned by the Neue Nationalgalerie. These include museum purchases, donations, and transfers, as well as permanent loans from public entities. Long-term loans from private owners are not included in this study; however, works whose owners are unknown will be published with the goal of increasing transparency and enabling research to settle open questions.

All works will appear in the online database with precise data, much of which has been newly researched, and with brief texts. The searchable database also contains detailed information on provenance, as well as on past exhibitions and literature. Until now, only a small selection of post-war artwork has been available online. The works are currently on display in the exhibition "Extreme Tension: Art between Politics and Society. Collection of the Nationalgalerie 1945-2000".

This project is made possible by the generous financial support of the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung.