Major »Kunst auf Lager« Initiative in the Scope of the Modernisation of the Hamburger Kunsthalle (2014-2016)

In the scope of the Kunsthalle’s modernisation, it was a fervent wish finally to be able to restore artworks that had been kept in storage for many years in view of their state of preservation, in order to integrate them into the newly arranged permanent collection.

Thanks to the initiative »Kunst auf Lager« (Art on Stock), an alliance of foundations for the analysis and safeguarding of museum depots, some 100 works were restored since 2014, allowing us to present them to the public in new splendor. This includes masterworks by Master Bertram, Lucas Cranach, Wassily Kandinsky or Ernst Wilhelm Nay, but also works of contemporary art, for example by Mario Merz, Rebecca Horn, Sigmar Polke or Jürgen Klauke.

We owe great thanks for their active commitment especially to the Hermann Reemtsma Foundation, the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States, the Rudolf-August Oetker Foundation and the Wüstenrot Foundation. With their support, we were able to restore not only the paintings themselves but also numerous frames, and improve the equipment and facilities of our storage facilities.