Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum opened on June 2, 1927, on Böttcherstraße in Bremen. It was initiated by coffee merchant Ludwig Roselius, who had the lane transformed into a total work of art in the 1920s and was an early collector of works by the painter, who died in 1907. It is considered the first museum in the world dedicated to the work of a woman artist.

The brick building with its expressively curving forms was designed by sculptor and architect Bernhard Hoetger; the building itself is part of the collection. During the Nazi era, the "Böttcherstraße culture" came under criticism, and afterward the collection was accessible only to a limited extent. Badly damaged in World War II, the street was rebuilt by 1954.

In 1988 the Sparkasse Bremen acquired the ensemble; by 1994 the museum had been comprehensively renovated and expanded. In 1992 the state and federal governments purchased the Roselius family's art collection. Since 2019, Museen Böttcherstraße Stiftungs-GmbH has run the museum together with the neighboring Ludwig Roselius Museum.

The collection covers Paula Modersohn-Becker's work from her early Worpswede landscapes to her Paris paintings of 1906/07, supplemented by loans from the Paula Modersohn-Becker-Stiftung and the most extensive collection devoted to Bernhard Hoetger. Special exhibitions place the painter in dialogue with female contemporaries and with present-day art; in 2027 the museum celebrates its 100th anniversary.

Highlights

• Self-Portrait on Her Sixth Wedding Anniversary (1906)
• Works from every phase of Paula Modersohn-Becker's career
• Expressionist brick architecture by Bernhard Hoetger
• Most extensive collection devoted to Bernhard Hoetger
• Installation "For Paula Modersohn-Becker" by Jenny Holzer
• Connected to the Ludwig Roselius Museum

Founded

1927

Operated by

Museen Böttcherstraße Stiftungs-GmbH

Director

Dr. Frank Schmidt

Admission & discounts

Admission covers the Museen Böttcherstraße (Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum and Ludwig Roselius Museum). Free admission for refugees. With a full-price ticket from one of the seven participating Bremen museums, reduced admission on the same day and the following day. Discounts with the Weser-Kurier AboCard (€1) and artCard. No reductions on combination tickets or special events.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: not available
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description: no information

No step-free entrance and no elevator in the listed Hoetger building; several flights of stairs, not usable with a wheelchair, rollator or stroller. Portable stools available. Tours for blind and visually impaired visitors, tactile model of the self-portrait on request, tours by telephone ("Bei Anruf Kultur"), tours in Easy Language and sign language by appointment, and the program "Aktiv mit Demenz" (active with dementia).

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Stroller-friendly: not available
• Kids’ birthday parties

Children's studio of the Museen Böttcherstraße for ages 6 to 10 on the last Friday of every month (except during school holidays and on public holidays, registration two days in advance), children's audio tours on the audio guide, and a children's quiz in the neighboring Ludwig Roselius Museum. Children's birthday parties (2 hours, up to 12 children) with a tour and creative activity. The stairs cannot be used with a stroller, and there is no elevator.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop with publications and editions.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

Receptions and private openings in the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum (entrance level), in the stair hall of the Ludwig Roselius Museum or in special exhibitions; short tours and furniture on request, prices on request.

Plan your visit