Museum

The Museum Ludwig’s permanent collection represents the most important modern trends from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present.

Discover highlights from our collection virtually

Click here to access the research database on the Museum Ludwig’s collection.

The Museum Ludwig has one of Europe’s largest and most significant collections of nineteenth- and twentieth-century photography.

From Picasso’s "Harlequin" to Roy Lichtenstein’s "M-Maybe" and Gerhard Richter’s "Ema": an overview of the collection’s highlights.

Which artworks and collection areas are currently on view? You’ll find an overview here.

On February 5, 1976 Peter and Irene Ludwig and the City of Cologne signed a donation contract founding the Museum Ludwig.

A building for the arts and music between the Cologne Cathedral and the Rhine.

An overview of the Museum Ludwig’s staff.

A museum needs ambitious partners and supporters.

Preserving the collection of the Museum Ludwig for future generations is the task of our conservation workshop.

The Kunst- und Museumsbibliothek is one of the largest public libraries for modern art and photography in the world.

Ca­t­a­logue, ed. by Stephan Died­erich, with con­tri­bu­tions by Pa­tri­cia Allmer, Stephan Died­erich, Yil­maz Dziewior, He­le­na Kuhl­mann, Chus Martínez, El­iz­a­beth A. Povinel­li, Ger­man/En­glish, ca. 390 pages, ca. 260 col­or ills., Ver­lag der Buch­hand­lung Walther und Franz König, Cologne, ISBN 978-3-7533-0405-2, Eu­ro 38

Ca­t­a­­logue ed­it­ed by Fa­bienne Eggel­höfer, Ri­ta Ker­st­ing und Flo­rence Os­tende, with con­tri­bu­tions by Dakin Hart, Fa­bienne Eggel­höfer, Ri­ta Ker­st­ing & Na­na Tazuke-Steiniger, Flo­rence Os­tende and a con­ver­sa­tion be­tween Karen L. Ishizu­ka, Ka­ty Siegel, Danh Vō, and De­vi­ka Singh, Ger­man and En­glish edi­tions, 304 p., ca. 350 ill., Pres­tel Ver­lag 45 EUR (book­s­tore, hard­cov­er), 35 EUR (mu­se­um, pa­per­back).

Family, kin, clan, clique, coterie, fandom, elective affinity, alliance, collaboration, network. These forms of social structures are reflected in the materials assembled in this catalogue: invitation cards, flyers, fanzines, journals, and texts from the 1990s and 2000s. Documents arranged chronologically on a timeline offer insight into developments in visual art at the time in Cologne and New York. Selected historical essays and reviews reflect virulent theoretical debates, interspersed with references to socio-political events and influential exhibitions.

An ex­hi­bi­tion ca­t­a­logue was pub­lished by Hirmer Ver­lag. With texts by Yil­maz Dziewior, Bar­bara En­gel­bach, and Ben­jamin Katz, 160 pages, 73 il­lus­tra­tions, in Ger­man and En­glish, €22 (re­tail price), €20 (mu­se­um price).