Graphic Arts Collection

The DHM’s graphic arts collection comprises around 100,000 prints and hand-drawn works from the 15th to the 21st century. The systematic development of the collection began in 1952 with the founding of the MfDG. It focused on subjects corresponding to the Marxist-Leninist view of history, such as the European revolutions of 1848 and the German labour movement. Since its founding, the DHM has concentrated on collecting a broader spectrum of objects in terms of both subject matter and design. Significant sub-categories include historical portrait and event prints from the 16th to the 19th centuries, political caricatures, drawings and prints from the 20th century – including important works by Käthe Kollwitz and Lea Grundig – as well as GDR commercial and commissioned art. A sub-collection comprises around 7,000 prints and drawings from the holdings of the German War Art Collection.