Chronology

New Gallery of the City of Linz,
Wolfgang Gurlitt Museum,
LENTOS Kunstmuseum Linz

1946: Founding of the New Gallery as loan museum in the Main Square (bridgehead building west)
Wolfgang Gurlitt made his private collection available to the city of Linz for ten years at no cost. Following initial provisional operations, the official opening took place in 1948.

1953: Purchase of the "Gurlitt Collection"
The city of Linz purchased 76 paintings and 33 graphic works from Gurlitt’s collection (agreement from 14 January 1953) and founded the "New Gallery of the City of Linz, Wolfgang Gurlitt Museum" as city museum for modern art.

1979: Relocation of the New Gallery of the City of Linz, Wolfgang Gurlitt Museum to new facilities in Lentia 2000
(Opening: 28 September 1979, approx. 1,200m² exhibition space)

1989: Expansion of the New Gallery in Lentia 2000
(to approx. 1,600m² exhibition space)

2003: Opening of the LENTOS Kunstmuseum Linz on the Danube
(Opening: 15 May 2003, approx. 2,700m² exhibition space)
The LENTOS Kunstmuseum Linz was built by the city of Linz according to plans by the architects Weber+Hofer, Zurich. The collection holdings, expanded to about 1,500 paintings and sculptures, 10,000 graphic works and 700 photographs through periodic purchases and donations, were relocated to the LENTOS Kunstmuseum Linz.

LENTOS  =  Celtic for "located at the bend of the river"; predecessor for the Roman name "Lentia" for Linz.

THE DIRECTORS

Wolfgang Gurlitt
Founding Director from 1953 to 1962
Born 1888 in Berlin, died 1965 in Munich

Walter Kasten  
Director from 1962 to 1973
Born 1902 in Halberstadt, died 1984 in Linz

Peter Baum   
Director from 1973 to 2003
Founding Director of LENTOS from 2003 to 2004

Stella Rollig  
Director since 2004