On 7 March 1863, the
Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry – today's MAK—was founded by Emperor
Franz Joseph I. Rudolf von Eitelberger, the first Professor of art history at the
University of Vienna, was appointed director. Following the example of London's
South Kensington Museum (today's
Victoria and Albert Museum) which was founded in 1852, the museum aims at serving as an exemplary collection for artists, industrialists, and the public and as an institution for education and training of designers and craftspeople. The museum opened on 12 May 1864, at first provisionally in rooms of the Ballhaus building next to the Vienna
Hofburg, which were adapted for the purpose of the museum by architect
Heinrich von Ferstel. With the establishment of the
k.k. Wiener Kunstgewerbeschule (Vienna School of Arts and Crafts) in 1867, theoretical and practical training was united. At first, the school was housed in the former gun factory at Währinger Straße 11–13/Schwarzspanierstraße 17 (nowadays the Anatomical Institute of the
Medical University of Vienna which was newly constructed in 1886). Only after the construction of an extension next to the
Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry, did the school move to Stubenring 3 in 1877. 1897, Arthur von Scala, until then director of the
Royal Middle Eastern Museum (later
Royal Austrian Trade Museum), takes over as director of the Museum of Art and Industry, bringing
Otto Wagner,
Felician von Myrbach,
Koloman Moser,
Josef Hoffmann and
Alfred Roller on board to work at the museum and at the School of Arts and Crafts. Due to conflicts between Scala and the Arts and Crafts Association (founded in 1884), who sees his influence on the museum beginning to wane, Archduke Rainer resigns 1898 as the museum's protector. New statutes were drawn up. Two years later, around 1900, the museum and the School of Arts and Crafts each received their own separate administration, although their final separation did not take place until 1909: The museum was placed under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture and Education, the school stayed at the Royal Ministry of Cultus and Education. In 1907, the Museum of Art and Industry took over most of the collection of the Royal Austrian Trade Museum. From 1865 to 1897, the Museum of Art and Industry also published the magazine
Mittheilungen des k. k. Österreichischen Museums für Kunst und Industrie (Transactions of the Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry). From 1898 to 1921, however, the Museum Journal was published with the new name
Kunst und Kunsthandwerk and soon gained international reputation. The museum began publishing the periodical
alte und moderne kunst (old and modern art). After the establishment of the First Republic, the holdings previously in the possession of the Habsburgs—e.g. oriental carpets—were handed over to the Museum. In 1936 and 1940, the Museum on Stubenring gave part of its sculpture collection to the
Kunsthistorisches Museum [Museum of Art History]. In exchange, it received the arts and crafts section of the collections of Albert Figdor and of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Following Austria's annexation by Nazi Germany, the museum was renamed "
Staatliches Kunstgewerbemuseum in Wien" (State Arts and Crafts Museum in Vienna). Between 1939 and 1945, Austria's museums take over several confiscated private collections. The collection of the "State Arts and Crafts Museum" also expanded in this way. Since 1998, numerous works of art have been restituted to their owners as a result of provenance research. In 1947, the "
Staatliches Kunstgewerbemuseum in Wien" (State Arts and Crafts Museum) was renamed "
Österreichisches Museum für angewandte Kunst" (Austrian Museum of Applied Arts). In 1949, the museum reopened following the repair of war-related damage. In 1965, the
Geymüllerschlössel in Vienna's 18th district was affiliated to the museum and became a new branch. At the same time as the building, the MAK also acquired Dr. Franz Sobek's important clock collection (160 Old-Viennese clocks from the time between 1750 and the second half of the 19th century) as well as furniture from the years 1800 to 1840. In the late 1980s, parts of the wall paintings were returned to their original state in the course of the renovation of the façade. The subsequent rearrangement of the furniture and the extraordinary clock collection in the rooms of the Geymüllerschlössel have provided visitors with an authentic insight into the diversity of Biedermeier interior decorating until today. The combat Flak Tower (G-Tower) in the Arenbergpark—one of the six flak towers erected in Vienna during
World War II—became an additional branch of the museum in 1994 and since 1995 has served as the MAK Contemporary Art Depot (MAK Tower), which hosts major parts of the Contemporary Art Collection of the museum. Currently, the MAK Tower is closed to the public due to a lack of official approval. After a MAK exhibition about
Josef Hoffmann in 1992 in his house of birth in
Brtnice/Pirnitz (
Czech Republic), contact with the Moravian Gallery in
Brno(Czech Republic) has been intensified. Finally, since 2006 both institutions have managed Hoffmann's birthplace as a joint branch—the
Josef Hoffmann Museum. The museum presents its collection in a permanent exhibition and, at the same time, temporary exhibitions about Josef Hoffmann and his contemporaries. In 1994, MAK CEO and artistic director
Peter Noever founded the branch
MAK Center for Art and Architecture in Los Angeles, USA. The center is located in three important buildings of the Viennese architect
Rudolph M. Schindler in Los Angeles (
Rudolph Schindler House, Pearl M. Mackey Apartment House, Fitzpatrick-Leland House). The focus is on new trends and interdisciplinary developments in the fields of fine arts and architecture which are expedited through scholarships and projects and are expanded through temporary exhibitions. One important sphere of influence of the MAK is its presentation in public space. The museum actively supports contemporary artists, whose works are mostly presented in an exhibition in the MAK building and later as works of art in Vienna's urban space in order to mediate at the interface between art and public space. International artists such as James Turrell (MAKlite, Permanent installation on the façade of the MAK since 2004, Stubenring 5, 1010 Vienna), Michael Kienzer (Stylit, 2005, Stubenring/Weiskirchnerstraße, 1010 Vienna),
Franz West (4 Larvae (Lemur Heads) 2001, Stubenbrücke, 1010 Vienna), Donald Judd (Stage Set, 1996, Stadtpark, 1030 Vienna) and Philip Johnson (Wiener Trio, 1998, Franz-Josefs-Kai/Schottenring, opposite
Ringturm, 1010 Vienna) have been represented. In 2000, Austria's federal museums were removed from state administration; the museum became a "public-law academic institution". In 2015, the MAK initiated the
Vienna Biennale, the first
Biennale to combine art, design and architecture. It lasted from 11 June to 4 October 2015 and was initiated by the MAK in partnership with the
University of Applied Arts Vienna,
Kunsthalle Wien, the
Architekturzentrum Wien, and the Vienna Business Agency, creative center departure, and organized with support from the
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology as a non-university research partner. The second Vienna Biennale took place from 21 June to 1 October 2017. The third Vienna Biennale took place from 29 May until 6 October 2019, the fourth from 28 May until 3 October 2021.
Directors memorial in the MAK •
Rudolf Eitelberger (1863–1885) • Jacob von Falke (1885–1895) • Bruno Bucher (1895–1897) • Arthur von Scala (1897–1909) • Eduard Leisching (1909–1925) • Hermann Trenkwald (1925–1927) • August Schestag (1927–1932) • Richard Ernst (1932–1950) • Ignaz Schlosser (1950–1958) • Viktor Griessmaier (1958–1968) • Wilhelm Mrazek (1968–1978) • Gerhard Egger (1978–1981) • Herbert Fux (1981–1984) • Ludwig Neustifter (Interim director, 1984–1986) •
Peter Noever (1986–2011) • Martina Kandeler-Fritsch (Interim director, February to August 2011) • Christoph Thun-Hohenstein (September 2011 to August 2021) • Lilli Hollein (since September 2021) In 2016, Christoph Thun-Hohenstein was appointed Director or rather General Director and artistic director of the MAK for another 5 years. At the same time, Teresa Mitterlehner-Marchesani—in the course of the introduction of joint management of the Austrian Federal Museums—was appointed managing director. In 2021 Lilli Hollein was appointed General Director and Artistic Director – she is the first female director in the MAK's history. == Building ==