The collection of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, which comprises 49,000 objects, is the second-largest Bauhaus collection worldwide after that of the Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung in Berlin. It contains objects and documents pertaining to the history of the Bauhaus from 1919 to 1933, especially items from the workshops of the Bauhaus Dessau from 1926 to 1932. In addition, the collection accumulates objects related to the reception history of the institution, especially the socialist-orientated era from 1945 to 1989, and objects and documents relevant to the prehistory of the Bauhaus and parallel modern movements.
The collection was established in the newly renovated Bauhaus Building in 1976 following the foundation of the Wissenschaftlich-Kulturelle Zentrum (WKZ). The aim was to set up a nationally-subsidised museum-like institution with an integrated collection. The first exhibits were sourced on the East German art market, acquired by the city of Dessau and transferred to the WKZ. Added to these were direct acquisitions from private owners, usually former Bauhauslers, including furniture by Marcel Breuer and Martin Decker.
Access
The archive of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation are open to the public for research purposes, but not for public viewing, after prior written registration. If you have any questions, please contact us at archiv@bauhaus-dessau.de.
The archive of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation / Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, photo: Sebastian Gündel, 2011
The archive of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation / Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau, photo: Sebastian Gündel, 2011
The archive of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation / Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau, Foto: Sebastian Gündel, 2011
Archiv der Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau / Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau, Foto: Sebastian Gündel, 2011
Archiv der Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau, 2009 / Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau, Foto: Yvonne Tenschert
Archiv der Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau, 2009, Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau, Foto: Y / Yvonne Tenschert
Arbeit im Bildarchiv der Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau / Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau, Foto: Yvonne Tenschert
Archiv der Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau, / Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau, Foto: Sebastian Gündel, 2011
The collection includes ca. 5,000 drawings, studies, compositions and lesson notes, most of which stem from the preliminary course or the classes of individual Bauhaus masters. The most valuable objects currently being acquired include graphics and drawings by the Bauhaus masters Lyonel Feininger, Wassily Kandinsky, Gerhard Marcks, Georg Muche and László Moholy-Nagy and by the students Marianne Brandt, Grete Reichardt, Theo Balden, Jean Leppien, Werner Drewes, Walter Allner and Fritz Winter.
Photography
The photography section of the collection comprises ca. 5,000 works with ca. 3,500 original vintage prints from the 1920s grouped according to the themes of architecture, portraits, products, life at the Bauhaus, stage photography, documentation and photo collage. The Bauhaus Dessau Foundation significantly fortified its photography section with the acquisition of 39 works by the photographer Umbo.
Design
The design products in the collection comprise works from all the workshops and work areas of the Bauhaus and works made by Bauhaus students after their student days. Additionally, there are works by artists regarded as forerunners of the Bauhaus or who are ascribed to parallel movements.
Architecture
The important works in the architecture section include models of Bauhaus buildings, among them the Gropius director’s room, the Masters’ Houses and the Dessau-Törten Housing Estate. The architectonic documents include drawings by Hannes Meyer, Walter Gropius, Carl Fieger, Mart Stam, Franz Ehrlich, Reinhold Rossig, Rudolf Ortner and Friedrich Engemann, among them plans for the Bauhaus buildings in Dessau (1925/26) and the plans entered in competition for the ADGB Trade Union School in Bernau (1928/29).
A specific section is dedicated to architectural designs originating from classes with Ludwig Hilberseimer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and others. The collection also includes architectural photographs and documents pertaining to the Bauhaus buildings and to architecture in the GDR.
