Georg Kolbe Museum

The Georg Kolbe Museum in Berlin's Westend district houses the estate of the sculptor Georg Kolbe and is regarded as an important center for the study of modern sculpture. The museum is located in the artist's former studio house, which opened as a museum in 1950 and is now run by the Georg Kolbe Foundation, established in 1949. Alongside Kolbe's own works, the collection includes sculptures and drawings by other artists of the first half of the twentieth century, among them Richard Scheibe, Rudolf Belling, and Renée Sintenis. An extensive archive of correspondence and a library round out the offerings. Since 2020, following the death of the artist's granddaughter, the holdings have grown to include numerous documents and letters from the 1920s and 1930s, including correspondence with Alfred Flechtheim and Max Pechstein.

Architecturally, the ensemble is an outstanding example of Neues Bauen (New Objectivity architecture) in Berlin. The architects Ernst Rentsch and Paul Linder built the complex between 1928 and 1929. Two cubic structures with brick facades and striking ribbon windows enclose an idyllic sculpture garden. It is the only artist's house of this era in Berlin that is open to the public as a museum. After severe war damage and the later demolition of the workshop wing, the historic studio underwent a preservation-minded renovation between 2015 and 2016. The focus was on reconstructing the original building elements and restoring the garden. An annex completed in 1996 provides additional exhibition space and storage, while the restored neighboring building now houses the museum café and the library.

The museum's exhibition program combines classical modernism with contemporary art. Whereas the focus was once strongly on pre- and postwar sculpture, contemporary art now carries greater weight. The museum sees itself as a place for research, exchange, and education, with particular emphasis on the study of women sculptors of the modern era, dance, photography, and the architecture of Neues Bauen. Here you can experience not only the works in the collection but also changing exhibitions that connect historical questions with the present and encourage dialogue between different eras.