The Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven is one of the first public museums for contemporary art to be established in Europe.The museum’s collection contains over 3,400 artworks. This includes key works and archives by Joseph Beuys, Marc Chagall, René Daniëls, Marlene Dumas, Sheela Gowda, Patricia Kaersenhout, Gülsün Karamustafa, Iris Kensmil, Oskar Kokoschka, John Körmeling, El Lissitzky (of whom it owns one of the largest collections of paintings in the world), Paul McCarthy, Pablo Picasso, Martha Rosler, and Lidwien van de Ven.
Established on the east bank of the Dommel River in 1936, the museum is named after its founder, the cigar businessman Henri van Abbe, who loved modern art and wanted his collection to be enjoyed in Eindhoven. Van Abbe therefore sold his collection to the Eindhoven city council in 1934. In return for buying some of his collection, the Van Abbe factory paid for and donated the museum building, which opened in 1936. The city had architect Alexander Kropholler design a building that is a symmetrical suite of galleries in the traditionalist style. The museum name was given in publications as “Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum” until approximately 1990 and as “Van Abbemuseum” after that time.
Here is a photographic impression of the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven.