National Gallery (Berlin)

The Nationalgalerie Berlin is a major collection of 19th-, 20th- and 21st-century art, part of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Berlin State Museums). Its history goes back to 1861, when it grew out of a donation from the banker Joachim Heinrich Wilhelm Wagener. After the collection moved into the Alte Nationalgalerie, built in 1876, it grew steadily through purchases and further gifts. World War II destroyed the building and split the holdings, which were reunited and reorganized after reunification in 1990.

Today the collection is spread across several sites, each covering a different era. You can see 19th-century art in the Alte Nationalgalerie on Museum Island and in the Friedrichswerdersche Church, where early 19th-century sculptures are also on display. At the Kulturforum, the Neue Nationalgalerie presents works of classical modernism up to the 1960s. The Museum Berggruen houses a collection of works by Pablo Picasso, while the eastern Stülerbau is home to the Surrealist Scharf-Gerstenberg Collection.

Contemporary art is shown at the Hamburger Bahnhof, which serves as the main exhibition space. Opened in 1996, this site forms the modern part of the Nationalgalerie. Part of the holdings, including works of East German art, remains in storage, since the available space cannot accommodate the entire collection. A friends' association, refounded in 1977, also supports the museum with art acquisitions and the funding of special exhibitions.