The Collection

While the Collection's 18th-century holdings of 1,242 drawings, 670 prints, and 88 models still reflected the institution's educational approach, the last twenty years before the Revolution of 1848 saw it transformed from a teaching instrument into the second largest graphic collection of the Monarchy after the Albertina. This change was brought about by seven major donations comprising some 6,500 drawings and 12,000 prints, amongst which some of today's most valuable items are to be found. Two were imperial donations, with the remainder coming from private hands: legacies of Franz Jäger II, Ludwig von Remy, and Abbé Franz Neumann, as well as donations of the Dukes Rudolf Colloredo-Mansfeld and Alois Liechtenstein.

After 1850, regular acquisitions of significant lots were made by the responsible ministries. It was only after the move to the new building by Theophil Hansen on Schillerplatz in 1876, however, that the various graphic holdings of the Academy were united under the name "Kupferstichkabinett." During the 20th century, the Collection grew mainly through donations from former students and professors and specific purchases aimed at completing its holdings. Since 1996, an annual donation from the Society of Friends of the Fine Arts made it possible to build up a collection of young contemporary art focussing on works by graduates of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.