Expanding the collection has been one of the core responsibilities of the Leopold Museum since its founding. This mission aligns with the principles of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), which states that museums should preserve and expand their cultural heritage. Each new acquisition – whether through purchase or donation – not only enlarges the holdings but also deepens the understanding of the museum’s curatorial focus. In recent years, significant donations have notably enriched this trajectory.

The foundation for this remarkable collection was laid by Rudolf and Elisabeth Leopold. In the late 1940s, Rudolf Leopold, then still a medical student, began collecting art intensively. He soon discovered the work of Egon Schiele, an artist who at that time had largely fallen into obscurity. From this early passion grew, over the course of five decades, what is now the world’s most comprehensive and significant Schiele collection, comprising nearly 300 works, including 48 paintings.

However, the couple’s interests extended far beyond Schiele. Works by Gustav Klimt, Richard Gerstl, Oskar Kokoschka, Alfred Kubin, as well as important positions in 19th-century Austrian painting – including Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Emil Jakob Schindler, and Anton Romako – form the pillars of the collection. This spectrum is complemented by major works of Jugendstil and the Wiener Werkstätte, including furniture and decorative arts by Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser.

The collection was conceived as a comprehensive panorama of Austrian art from the mid-19th century to Modernism – an ambition that continues to shape the museum’s acquisition strategy to this day.

In 1994, Rudolf and Elisabeth Leopold transferred their private collection of approximately 5,000 works into a non-profit foundation – an innovative partnership between private commitment and public support from the Republic of Austria and the Oesterreichische Nationalbank. With the opening of the MuseumsQuartier location in 2001, the collection was made permanently accessible to the public.

To this day, the museum continues this legacy. New acquisitions help to sharpen the art-historical threads within the collection, highlight previously less illuminated facets of Viennese Modernism, and deepen the understanding of the epoch to which Rudolf Leopold dedicated his life. Each newly added work becomes part of this unique ensemble, broadening the perspective on Austrian art of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Further recent acquisitions can be explored in the online collection!

Online Collection