Art collection

Today, the OeNB’s art collection comprises around 2,000 works by Austrian artists dating from 1900 onwards, with particular focus on New Objectivity and contemporary abstract painting.

PREMIERE! The Oesterreichische Nationalbank Collection

24 April to 11 October 2026, Leopold Museum

The OeNB made a significant financial contribution to the Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung in 1994, thus laying the groundwork for the foundation and success story of the Leopold Museum. The exhibition “Premiere!” honours the long-standing ties between the two institutions, showcasing the impressive diversity of the OeNB’s art collection for the first time in a comprehensive presentation.

About the collection

Since its establishment in 1816, the OeNB has been committed to fostering Austria’s cultural landscape. Since the late 1980s, it has systematically built an art collection that today comprises around 2,000 works by Austrian artists dating from 1900 to the present day. The collection focuses on Austrian art of the interwar period, particularly New Objectivity, as well as contemporary abstract painting. It reflects the breadth and diversity of artistic developments in Austria, encompassing positions ranging from Austrian Informel and geometrical abstraction to early computer art. Through the acquisition of significant works, the collection continues to grow and evolve.

Works from the collection are displayed throughout the OeNB’s conference rooms, stairwells and offices. In addition, the OeNB supports numerous exhibition projects in Austria and abroad through loans from its collection. Selected works are on long-term loan to Austrian institutions, including the Albertina and the Leopold Museum in Vienna, the Museum der Moderne Salzburg, the University of Art and Design Linz, and Schloss Bruck in Lienz.

Selected works

The OeNB’s extensive collection includes works by historically pioneering artists such as Oskar Kokoschka and Erika Giovanna Klien, renowned representatives of the 20th century Austrian art including Maria Lassnig, Alfred Hrdlicka, Oswald Oberhuber, Martha Jungwirth and Birgit Jürgenssen, as well as contemporary artists such as Svenja Deininger, Tobias Pils and Heimo Zobernig.

Selected works

Artists

Eduard Angeli (1942)
Christian Ludwig Attersee (1940)
Joannis Avramidis (1922–2016)
Ona B. (1957)
Werner Berg (1904–1981)
Wander Bertoni (1925–2019)
Erwin Bohatsch (1951)
Hans Böhler (1884–1961)
Herbert Brandl (1959)
Ernst Caramelle (1952)
Adriana Czernin (1969)
Gunter Damisch (1958–2016)
Svenja Deininger (1974)
Josef Dobrowsky (1889–1964)
Albin Egger-Lienz (1868–1926)
Georg Eisler (1928–1998)
Lisl Engels (1916–2006)
Anton Faistauer (1887–1930)
Werner Feiersinger (1966)
Herbert W. Franke (1927–2022)
Bruno Gironcoli (1936–2010)
Franz Grabmayr (1927–2015)
Franz Graf (1954)
Helmuth Gsöllpointner (1933)
Roland Goeschl (1932–2016)
Julia Haugeneder (1987)
Flora Hauser (1992)
Xenia Hausner (1951)
Herbert Hinteregger (1970)
Christine & Irene Hohenbüchler (beide 1964)
Wolfgang Hollegha (1929–2023)
Alfred Hrdlicka (1928–2009)
Birgit Jürgenssen (1949–2003)
Ludwig Heinrich Jungnickel (1881–1965)
Martha Jungwirth (1940)
Luisa Kasalicky (1974)
Soli Kiani (1981)
Michael Kienzer (1962)
Erika Giovanna Klien (1900–1957)
Kurt Kocherscheidt (1943–1992)
Peter Kogler (1959)
Oskar Kokoschka (1886–1980)
Anton Kolig (1886–1950)
Roland Kollnitz (1972)
Brigitte Kowanz (1957–2022)
Oskar Laske (1874–1951)
Maria Lassnig (1919–2014)
Constantin Luser (1976)
Anton Mahringer (1902–1974)
Josef Mikl (1929–2008)
Carl Moll (1861–1945)
Ulrike Müller (1971)
Ute Müller (1978)
Zoran Music (1909–2005)
Hermann Nitsch (1938–2022)
Oswald Oberhuber (1931–2020)
Hermann J. Painitz (1938–2018)
Florentina Pakosta (1933)
Josef Pillhofer (1921–2010)
Tobias Pils (1971)
Ingeborg Pluhar (1944)
Rudolf Polanszky (1951)
Peter Pongratz (1951)
Markus Prachensky (1932–2011)
Wilhelm Nicolaus Prachensky (1898–1956)
Arnulf Rainer (1929–2025)
Alois Riedl (1935)
Gerwald Rockenschaub (1952)
Florian Schaumberger (1962)
Hubert Scheibl (1952)
Roman Scheidl (1949)
Alfons Schilling (1934–2013)
Eva Schlegel (1960)
Hubert Schmalix (1952–2025)
Soshana (1927–2015)
Hans Staudacher (1923–2021)
Wilhelm Thöny (1888–1949)
Andreas Urteil (1933–1963)
Walter Vopava (1948)
Alfons Walde (1891–1958)
Max Weiler (1910–2001)
Franz West (1947–2012)
Fritz Wotruba (1907–1975)
Erwin Wurm (1954)
Fritz Zerritsch (1888–1985)
Otto Zitko (1958)
Heimo Zobernig (1958)
Franz von Zülow (1883–1963)

The OeNB holds one of Austria’s most significant public collections of New Objectivity art. It includes outstanding works by leading representatives of the movement, including Greta Freist, Franz Sedlacek and Rudolf Wacker.

The 1920s and 1930 in Austria were shaped by social tensions, the rise of totalitarian ideologies and economic hardship. In response to these turbulent times, artists expressed a longing for order, clarity and stability through seemingly everyday motifs such as landscapes, portraits and still lifes. Alongside expressive artistic approaches, a sober, detached and objective visual language emerged: New Objectivity.