Museumsportal Berlin

Since 1946, Haus am Waldsee is considered to be one of the foremost exhibition spaces for international contemporary art in Germany. Artists from all countries and continents as well as from other parts of Germany are moving to Berlin. Amongst these are not only visual artists, painters, sculptors, media specialists but also fashion and furniture designers, musicians and writers who live and work in Berlin. To them Haus am Waldsee grabs their attention.
Built as a private mansion in 1922/23, it became the outpost of ´Allgemeine Film-Treuhand´ of UFA in 1942. Immediately after the war, Zehlendorf local council moved into the building, which had remained undamaged. Only a few months later an exhibition of works by Kaethe Kollwitz was presented here to the art loving public. Exhibitions of ´degenerate´ artists followed in quick succession.While the focus was initially on the rehabilitation of German artists the programme was soon seeking to establish its position within the international context. Here, like no other museum, Haus am Waldsee established standards: as early as 1947, right after Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, the works of Pablo Picasso were presented. This was followed the year after with exhibitions by Oskar Schlemmer and Georges Rouault, and in 1951 a first show of works by Henry Moore and Max Ernst.